Urban Fountains and Furniture (UrbanFF) has recently obtained Watermark Certification for their range of industry-leading drinking fountains. Almost 20 years in the business, UrbanFF attributes their success to a consistent focus on quality, innovation and service.
For the first 15 years, owners Gary and Claire Allan deliberately kept the business small as they focussed on delivering exceptional, high-quality products, innovative designs and exemplary customer service. Keeping their growth steady and manageable, they intentionally ignored many opportunities fearing that they could potentially go down the same path taken by other larger manufacturers, where quality was traded for quantity and customer service offered little or no value to the customer.
This business principle has helped build UrbanFF as a brand synonymous with delivering outstanding quality and innovative solutions, backed with significant expertise. The business is now experiencing interest from a global customer base, leading to unprecedented growth. The increasing demand from Australia and New Zealand, and even Europe, USA and Asia for UrbanFF products, particularly outdoor drinking fountains, has encouraged the company to embrace growth to meet the needs and expectations of their customers.
However, UrbanFF will manage this growth without losing sight of their core values of quality and service. The team believes that future development will not only maintain their services, but also dramatically improve on them.
UrbanFF has undertaken several initiatives to support their rapid business growth.
Innovation
UrbanFF has recently obtained Watermark Certification (WMTS-105:2016) and is leading the way for Australian outdoor drinking fountain manufacturers with a range of new designs to be released in the near future.
Quality
UrbanFF is also Certified for Quality to ISO:9001:2015, meeting market expectations for a first-class Australian manufacturer. All UrbanFF products can be specified with the confidence that you are not only buying a product that meets the required Australian standards but also exceeds expectations in functionality and looks.
Operational excellence
To support their expanding operations, UrbanFF is investing in new infrastructure: the company is not only doubling their factory size but also using lean manufacturing methodologies to help redesign the layout of the space, leading to a more efficient work area and reducing lead times for customers.
Workforce
In addition to adding more staff, UrbanFF is also investing in their training and development to ensure their performance is aligned with the quality of the brand.
