Manufacturer Brand Spotlight: BERMEX Furniture

This month we're featuring BDM Furniture, the Canadian company behind the BERMEX and DINEC brands, as part of our manufacturer's spotlight series.

BDM Furniture

BDM Furniture is the leader among manufacturers of customizable dining room furniture, pub tables and bar stools made of select high-grade birch.

Company History

Founded in Maskinongé (Québec, Canada), BERMEX is proud to be family owned and operated since 1983. Over the last few years, BDM Furniture has become more and more specialized in high-quality wood dining furniture, pub tables and bar stools. We are now one of the largest manufacturers of wood chairs and bar stools in North America. We support more than 350 employees and possess six factories equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

Take a tour of their Louiseville facility to get an insider perspective in this video.

Philanthropy

We believe that helping our neighbors first makes all the difference in the world. It is part of our values to support local charities. For instance, we have been working with the CIUSSS MCQ for over 15 years and hiring disabled adults to work in our facilities.

Environment

Lowering our environmental footprint as much as possible is very important to us. Keeping our production in Canada is also a priority of ours considering its environmental policies being close to ours. By doing so, not only are we helping our planet, but we are also helping our local economy.

We are also committed to using wood that comes from companies that apply sustainable and responsible guidelines. Our suppliers do not clear cut and they replant and provide beautiful forests to be enjoyed by generations to come.

We have also integrated green practices into our manufacturing process, from choosing recycled packaging materials to recuperating wood chips and other wood pieces. We consolidate orders at our distribution center which allows us to reduce the number of trucks on the road. We also make sure a truck is fully loaded before it leaves the distributing center which reduces our carbon dioxide emissions as well. Finally, being in Québec, Canada, our primary energy source is hydropower, a very clean form of energy.

Collaborations

At Bermex, we strongly believe that there is strength in togetherness and that is why we have developed strong partnerships with various organizations in our industry. We collaborate and have become influential members in different organizations such as QFMA and Créneau Accord. During this pandemic time, it is even more important to be open-minded and creative in our collaborations. We also work with different companies in the furniture industries by collaborating on the production of new products and hosting events to showcase our products.

What does the future look like?

Are there any big changes in the way you will run your business post COVID-19?

Covid-19 has changed the way we live, interact, and do business. We have put forth strong guidelines to ensure the safety of our employees. We are expanding our presence online (Facebook, Instagram, revamping website and extranet) in order to provide better tools for all our retailers and the consumers. We are also helping our retailers with their online presence. Working together can only make us stronger. Strength in numbers as they say

What are your thoughts on the future in terms of the furniture industry?

We believe in a personalized experience when buying furniture. We know our customers want to feel the smoothness of our tables and our fabrics. In our opinion, the custom dining furniture business will still mostly take place in physical stores in the short and long term, but we must have a strong online presence to be visible and direct consumers to our retailers. We are evaluating the need for a virtual showroom and may be associating that space with other Canadian furniture manufacturers in our area to promote locally built furniture and Canadian craftsmanship.