The search for what to rent takes a break for now – Have you heard of RTA or KD furniture? by Ron Lanzo

Ron Lanzo, AFR Furniture

For those of you that have followed this column you know that I’ve been on an endless journey to find new things to rent. Since coming into the rental industry just over eight years ago, I have been on a mission to uncover and find increasingly new products available for rent. Part of the journey was of course to prove to both my audience and myself that renting instead of buying was a great idea. After all initially it conserves cash for other investments and it’s a way of trying out a product before one makes the commitment to invest in a purchase.

That said, for this issue I’m moving to a new concept of what’s involved in buying RTA (Ready to Assemble) or KD (Knocked Down) furniture. Now Chinese factories have taken what was a unique innovation from IKEA and taken this concept to a whole new level. And I dare say that they are not alone, since many made in the USA products are now simply packaged in a flat box, which the buyer then takes home to perform the arduous task of assembling. China has taken this idea from IKEA to a whole new level. And many US manufacturers no longer manufacture, now simply package the product and you build it at home! I recently met with an executive office suites owner who shall remain nameless at this point who has made the switch from buying fully assembled office furniture to purchasing from IKEA. I asked him how he handles the task of building these products at his office. His reply much to my surprise was, “There’s an app for that”! Why was I not surprised, after all with so many smart phones and Apple iphones on the market it seems there’s an app now for just about everything.

Recently in the Wall Street Journal an article by Michael Hsu, aka “The Fixer,” entitled, “Gear Up for an IKEA-Furniture Showdown,” Mr. Hsu talks about the kinds of tools one needs to help simplify somewhat over-whelming task of furniture assembly. He mentions that the supplier often includes a standard hex wrench, that little “L” shaped metal tool with an hexagonal shape on both ends, but sometimes its missing in that myriad of nuts, bolts, screws and washer assortment. Again according to Mr. Hsu, “IKEA’s most commonly used screw is a 4-mm hex, but some of the furniture requires hex screws of other sizes (as well as Phillips and Flathead screws)!” So what is one to do, either pick up the phone, hit the app and then call someone into assemble for you or invest in a new tool kit. Should you decide to buy some new tools, let me just inform you that you need to start with the Worx SD Driver with Screw Holder at around $40. This is a rechargeable electric screwdriver that has a rotating cartridge that lets you quickly switch among any six bits. Now if you buy all of the tools suggested in Mr. Hsu’s article you’ll spend around $152 plus tax, which in New York City means $165.49!

Now for a much simpler way of handling your furniture requirements you could call AFR Furniture Rental and we’ll handle the assembly in our local warehouse, or ask our vendor to deliver the product fully assembled. We’ll show up at your place and handle the inside delivery and set up for you so that it will be a seamless “turn-key” process. We’ll place the product in place whether it’s a commercial furniture or a residential home staging, you can count on us to make it perfect.

Ron Lanzo is the commercial account executive for AFR Furniture Rental, Inc., New York, N.Y.20