Virco produces the broadest line of furniture for the K-12 market of any manufacturer
in the United States. By supplementing products manufactured by Virco with products
from other manufacturers, Virco provides a comprehensive product assortment
that covers substantially all products and price points that are traditionally
included on the FF&E line item on a new school project or school budget.
Virco also provides a variety of products for preschool markets and has recently
developed products that are targeted for college, university, and corporate
learning center environments. The Company has an ambitious and on-going product
development program featuring products developed in-house as well as products
developed with accomplished designers. The Company's primary furniture lines
are constructed of tubular metal legs and frames, combined with wood and plastic
tops, plastic seats and backs, upholstered seats and backs, and upholstered
rigid polyethylene and polypropylene shells. Virco also has flat metal forming
capabilities to enable the production of desks, returns, bookcases, filing cabinets,
mobile pedestals and related items.
Virco's principal manufactured products include:
SEATING - The ergonomically supportive ZUMA® line designed by Peter Glass
and Bob Mills posted the highest initial-year new product sales total in the
Company's history. In addition to fixed-height 4-leg chairs, the ZUMA line includes
cantilever chairs; tablet arm chairs with a fixed or articulating work surface
and a compact footprint; and steel-frame rockers. The ZUMAfrd™ collection
features Fortified Recycled Wood™ hard plastic seats, backrests and work
surfaces. ZUMAfrd products have up to 70% recycled content and are 98% recyclable.
The Sage™ line, originally designed to serve students in college, university
and other adult education settings - and on high school campuses - now offers
a 13” and a 15” 4-leg chair and a corresponding pair of cantilever
chairs for younger or smaller students; there's also a selection of Sage rockers
for K-12 applications and several tablet arm units. Selected adult-height Sage
models can also now be ordered with a padded, upholstered seat. Other Virco
seating choices include the Metaphor® Series - an updated sequel to Virco's
best-selling Classic Series™ furniture with improvements in comfort, ergonomics,
stackability, and manufacturing efficiencies - and the Telos® Series, a
wide-ranging product line with ergonomically contoured Fortified Recycled Wood
components. The Sage Contract line is targeted for offices and reception areas,
colleges, hospitality venues and other adult environments. Virco further expanded
the Sage Contract line in 2015 with the addition of a mobile tablet-arm workstation
that includes an integrated bookrack to further penetrate the higher education
market. Civitas™ chairs and stools are intended for foodservice, libraries,
media centers, circulation areas, and related areas where people gather. Civitas
frames offer several chair bucket styles and options including Zuma, Sage, Analogy,
and molded plywood. Additional Virco seating alternatives range from 120, 121
and 122 Series stools to contoured I.Q.® Series classroom chairs by Richard
Holbrook; comfortable, attractive Virtuoso® chairs by Charles Perry; and
new Analogy™ Series chairs by Peter Glass and Bob Mills. The N2 Series
was designed by Virco and introduced in 2015 as a comprehensive, ergonomic seating
line that specifically caters to the budget conscious consumer. Classic Series™
stack chairs and Martest 21® hard plastic seating models are popular choices
in schools across America. Along with this range of seating, Virco offers folding
chairs and upholstered stack chairs, as well as additional plastic stack chairs
and upholstered ergonomic chairs.
TABLES - Virco’s TEXT® table collection for learning environments
- designed by Peter Glass and Bob Mills- features heavy-gauge tubular steel
and proven Virco construction for extended product life, and elliptical legs,
swooping yokes and arched feet for exceptional elegance. Selected TEXT models
can be equipped with a variety of technology-support and storage accessories.
The 2015 introduction of the TEXT Tilt-Top Height Adjustable Table further expanded
Virco’s reach into the seminar, training room, and higher education markets
by enhancing the functionality and flexibility of the table while strengthening
the Virco and TEXT brands. The all new Tetra™ Series is a versatile collection
of tables and student desks suitable for various environments. From classrooms
to open-office spaces, the Tetra is simple enough to serve as an everyday workstation
but can be customized to suit the needs of a fast paced computer lab or seminar
training room. Lunada® tables, combining Virco's popular Lunada bi-point
bases with a selection of 20 top sizes, make great choices for seminar, conference
and related settings. Designed for Virco by Peter Glass, Plateau® tables
bring exceptional versatility, sturdy construction and great styling to working
and learning environments. For durable, easy-to-use lightweight folding tables,
Virco's Core-a-Gator® models are unsurpassed. When paired with attractive,
durable Virco cafe tops, Lunada bases by Peter Glass provide eye-catching table
solutions for hospitality settings. Civitas tops and bases provide excellent
furniture solutions for casual spaces where people gather. Virco also carries
traditional folding tables, CT Series tables with a hand crank mechanism for
top height adjustment, activity tables and office tables, as well as the computer
tables and mobile tables described below. Virco’s Makerspace tables are
designed specifically for hands-on learning environments most commonly found
in vocational classes, makerspace areas and STEM / STEAM centered education.
COMPUTER FURNITURE - The TEXT and Tetra Series table collections described in
the preceding paragraph provides an array of computer furniture choices for
learning or business environments; Virco's Flip-Top Technology tables and HWT
(Hinged Wire Trough) Technology tables also deliver popular computer furniture
solutions. Future Access® computer tables come with an integral wire management
panel and all rectangular models have a smooth post-formed front and rear edge.
Like our Future Access models, 8700 Series computer tables can be equipped with
Virco's functional computing accessories, such as keyboard mouse trays, CPU
holders and support columns for optional elevated shelves. In an effort to address
the demand for collaborative solutions in a computer lab environment, Virco
added the Quarter Round 8700 Series Computer Table that allows multiple tables
to be grouped together while maintaining a technology based environment. The
Plateau Office Solutions collection offers desks and workstations with technology-support
capabilities, while the Plateau Library/Technology Solutions line has specialty
tables and other products for computing applications. Virco now offers Instructor
Media Stations and Towers that include several options for media storage and
presentation.
DESKS/CHAIR DESKS - From the ergonomic and collaborative-learning strengths
of our best-selling ZUMA® student desks to the continuing popularity of
our traditional Classic Series™ chair desks and combo units, Virco's wide-ranging
furniture models can be found in thousands of America's schools. To expand on
the popularity of the 785 Student Desk, Virco added a Collaborative Top work
surface as an option on all 785 desk models, which facilitates convenient grouping
of desks for break-out sessions and classroom collaboration. The Sage Contract
saw the addition of an optional bookrack, which combined with the tablet arm
and caster options, creates a complete mobile workstation for a variety of environments.
The Molecule is a new student desk with a unique shaped collaborative work surface
that can be used by a single student or grouped together with multiple Molecules
to create various arrangements and group settings. Related products include
an array of tablet arm units, new Agile Combo models and new Analogy™
Series combo chair desks. Selected models are available with durable, colorfast
Martest 21® or Fortified Recycled Wood™ hard plastic components. For
teachers, principals and district administrators - and for business environments
- Virco offers an extensive range of Parameter® desks, returns and credenzas
designed by Peter Glass and Bob Mills. Textameter™ mobile workstations
provide additional furniture choices for educators.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE FURNITURE - In addition to the Plateau® Office Solutions,
Parameter®, and Textameter™ product lines, Virco manufactures a selection
of desks, returns, bookcases and other items that employ the Company's flat
metal forming capabilities. These products include 53 Series steel storage cabinets,
an expanded range of 53 Series lateral files, and special versions of 543 and
546 Series desks with wire management capabilities. Other products range from
53 Series wardrobe tower cabinets and Parameter file credenzas to Parameter
mobile pedestals and Plateau bookcases in popular 36” wide and 48”
wide models that work in classroom settings and related educational environments
as well as administrative offices.
LABORATORY FURNITURE - For biology and chemistry classes, and other school-
and college-based lab settings, Virco offers a variety of steel-based science
tables. Virco manufactures the table bases of these items and equips them with
specialty Chemsurf® and epoxy resin tops. Virco's ZUMA®, Sage™,
Analogy™, N2, Telos®, Metaphor®, I.Q.®, Classic Series™,
and 3000 Series collections include pneumatically adjustable lab stools with
high-range seat-height adjustment and a steel foot-ring. Virco also carries
a selection of wood-frame science tables with Chemsurf and epoxy resin tops.
MOBILE FURNITURE - Cafeterias are perfect venues for the ever-popular Virco
mobile tables - including a selection of oval mobile tables with attached benches
or stools - while classrooms benefit from the spacious storage capacity of Virco
mobile cabinets; additional mobile cabinet models with a magnetic marker back
are available. ADA compliant Mobile Bench & Stool Tables were also introduced
to the Virco line of mobile products in 2015 to expand on our wheelchair accessible
solutions. An array of Virco product lines includes mobile chairs for school
settings and offices.
STORAGE EQUIPMENT - For moving selected Virco chairs and folding tables, the
Company carries a wide range of handling and storage equipment. For our convention
center, arena, and auditorium customers, Virco also manufactures stackable storage
trucks that work with Virco upholstered stack chairs, folding chairs and folding
tables.
Virco's wide-ranging product selection includes hundreds of furniture models
that are certified the Greenguard® Children & Schools Program for indoor
air quality. In 2005 Virco's ZUMA and ZUMAfrd™ products earned the distinction
of being the first classroom furniture models to be certified by the Greenguard
Children & Schools Program, now known as Greenguard Gold certification.
All of the models in the Company's most recently introduced product lines -
including Analogy™ furniture models and Textameter™ instructor workstations
- are Greenguard-certified. Along with Virco's leadership relative to Greenguard-certified
furniture, the Company also introduced the classroom furniture industry's first
Take-Back program in 2007, enabling qualifying schools, colleges, universities,
and other organizations and customers to return selected out-of-service furniture
components for recycling rather than sending these items to a landfill.
In order to provide a comprehensive product offering for the education market,
the Company supplements Virco-manufactured products with items purchased for
re-sale, including wood and steel office furniture, early learning products
for pre-school and kindergarten classrooms, science laboratory furniture, and
library tables, chairs and equipment. Virco now offers customized, space-efficient
workstations by Interior Concepts™ for technology and language labs, media
centers, computer classrooms, reception areas and offices. Interior Concepts
is one of the many vendors with which the Company partners in order to effectively
position Virco as the preferred one-stop furniture and equipment source for
K-12 schools. None of the products from vendor partners accounted for more than
10% of consolidated revenues in 2016.
To complement Virco's extensive selection of furniture and equipment, we offer
customers a variety of valuable services in connection with the purchase of
Virco products; revenues from these service levels are included in the purchase
price of the furniture items. In addition to giving customers the option of
purchasing Virco products and making their own delivery arrangements, Virco
provides three levels of delivery service. When customers choose Standard Delivery
- also known as tailgate delivery - the delivery driver is responsible for moving
the customer's goods to the tailgate of the truck only; therefore, the customer
must have personnel on hand to unload the truck. For additional charges Virco
also offers Inside Delivery (no installation), or Full-Service Delivery (delivered
and placed in the classroom). To assist customers involved with FF&E purchases
for new school construction projects or school renovations, Virco's PlanSCAPE®
service provides room-by-room computerized layout planning and full FF&E
project management.