Turning the tables to make meetings effective

Tables made in Yorkshire are helping a host of large organisations to hold meetings in a brisk, focused fashion.

ABF Europe wants to end the wasteful habit of holding corporate presentations in cramped conditions. Too many overhead projectors have a precarious existence on a wobbly table.

The company designs and manufactures Kite, a mobile, folding table system which is ideal for training rooms.

The company, which is based in Hunsingore, near Wetherby and has 20 staff in the UK, is gearing up for growth this year.

Recent contract wins have included deals with the US military, and the tables are also used in the US Embassy in London.

Darren Buttle, the company's managing director, believes

the recession has encouraged companies to keep a tight grip on costs.

As a result, he expects rising demand for a table system which can be assembled quickly to turn rooms of all sizes into training facilities.

Mr Buttle's early life was spent as a travelling entertainer. He spent around four years touring parts of Europe in a transit

van with his bass guitar, before founding ABF Europe in the late 1990s.

He said: "We set out on a crusade. The provision of office training furniture wasn't right and it wasn't thought through."

He said people got "maximum value" from meetings if they were sitting comfortably in an environment that wasn't claustrophobic, and they could see all their colleagues.

"We've arrived at presentations where the projector was perched on the end of the table and balanced by books.

"We don't want any chaos. We want every delegate to have very clear space, so that there's total focus on the meeting,'' he said.

The company has a turnover of 2.4m, compared to 1.8m a year ago.

During a recession, it was more important than ever that time and space was used effectively, Mr Buttle said.

"We need to hold effective meetings to up our game," he added.

The traditional boardroom, with its large, fixed table, was often not the best place to hold a meeting or training session, he argued.

At least one client had been sending staff to hotels for training sessions instead of placing more flexible furniture in their boardroom, so it could accommodate more staff.

"You are not holding meetings correctly if you have six people at a 30-person table," said Mr Buttle.

"There are environmental benefits from not sending staff to other locations. All floor space is valuable."

He said the company was moving its US manufacturing base, which employs four staff, from Chicago to larger premises in Pennsylvania in October.

Mr Buttle wants the US operation to mirror the business model in the UK.

"We believe there's a desire for multi-functional furniture," he added.

"Each Kite table assembles in less than 30 seconds. We have invested in research and development and design."

Mr Buttle said the Kite system was good for a company's reputation, because it meant visitors could be welcomed in to a professional meeting room.

"Higgledy piggledy" tables created a bad impression, he said.

Mr Buttle has hosted events to promote Kite at the British embassies in Tokyo, Madrid and Barcelona.

Further events are planned for the UK embassies in Geneva on June 1 and Paris on June 3.

He added: "We wanted people to see great products and have a memorable experience.

"We took along some musicians from Yorkshire to these embassy events and they played acoustic guitars.

"We wanted them to enjoy doing business with us."

ABF europe are sitting comfortably

From modest beginnings in the late 1990s, ABF Europe has secured a host of contracts in locations from Leeds to Dubai.

Darren Buttle, managing director, has high hopes for the mobile, folding table system Kite. Mr Buttle said: "We are expanding the US operation and we are opening up in Australia at the back end of the year. We've furnished the Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dubai and the Pizza Hut training centre in Oman. We also furnished the HSBC European banking training centre in St Albans and we are working with universities.

"We were also recently awarded orders from Sports Scotland."