Restaurant terrace and lounge furniture for a multi-location restaurant group in Dubai
Terrace dining sets in WPC, leather recliner sofas and coffee tables topped in natural marble: three product lines, three specialist factories in China, one container to Jebel Ali in 2017.
Two environments, three specialist factories, one container
In 2017 a restaurant group with several sites in Dubai asked FBM Sourcing to furnish two kinds of space: the outdoor terraces, and the air-conditioned lounges inside. The terraces took dining tables and armchairs in WPC (wood-plastic composite); the lounges took leather recliner sofas, in two-seat and three-seat versions, and coffee tables with natural marble tops on hardwood bases, for guests waiting for a table or sitting over shisha.
Because the group dines outdoors for most of the year, the terrace pieces had to cope with strong sun, heat and daily restaurant use. That is why the specification chose WPC slats over natural timber, fixed to steel frames with a powder coat. Quantities were set site by site, and all three product lines travelled together in a single container to Jebel Ali.
Client type
Containers
Destination
Year
What went into the container
Terrace pieces and lounge pieces come from different kinds of factory and are checked for different things, so the order was run product line by product line.
01
01 · Terraces: WPC dining sets
- Dining tables in WPC on powder-coated steel frames
- Armchairs in WPC for the terrace seating
- Tables packed flat, each carton holding its own hardware and assembly instructions
Materials and finish. Slats in UV-stable WPC and a marine-grade powder coat on the steel. The purchase order named the board colour, the slat profile, the wall thickness of the frame tube and the coating standard.
Quantity. Set per restaurant site; our record of this order has no line-by-line split. Everything shipped together in one container to Jebel Ali.
02
02 · Lounges: leather recliner sofas
- Recliner sofas in leather
- Two-seat and three-seat versions
Materials and finish. Thick bonded leather over recliner mechanisms of commercial grade. The purchase order named the cycle rating of the mechanism and the grade of leather.
Quantity. Loaded in the same container as the terrace sets; our record has no line-by-line split.
03
03 · Lounges: marble-top coffee tables
- Coffee tables with natural marble tops on hardwood bases
Materials and finish. Natural marble on hardwood. The purchase order covered how the marble slabs were matched and how each table was to be cartoned.
Quantity. Travelled in the same container as the sofas and the terrace sets.
From brief to one loaded container
01
Specification first
We wrote the brief up as a specification for each line — UV-stable WPC and a marine-grade powder coat outdoors; thick bonded leather over commercial-grade recliner mechanisms in the lounges; natural marble on hardwood for the coffee tables — with the quantity for each restaurant site.
02
One factory per line
These three products do not come from one factory. The terrace sets went to a factory that extrudes WPC and fabricates steel; the sofas to an upholstery factory with lines dedicated to recliner mechanisms; the coffee tables to a casegoods workshop used to working with stone tops. All three priced the same written specification.
03
Samples, then orders
Samples were signed off before any deposit was paid. The purchase orders then pinned down the points most likely to cause an argument later: WPC board colour and slat profile, frame tube wall thickness, the coating standard, the recliner cycle rating, the leather grade, how the marble slabs were matched, and the carton specification.
04
One inspection, finished goods
When bulk production was finished and before shipment, our own team inspected once, line by line. Terrace sets: every table top for slat alignment and fastener seating, frames for squareness, cut edges for coating coverage, and chairs from different batches assembled as a test. Sofas: each recliner mechanism operated seat by seat, stitching and leather checked panel by panel. Coffee tables: marble tops for cracks, veining match and edge polish.
05
Put right before packing
Any piece that failed was repaired or replaced before it went into a carton, so only goods that had passed were packed.
06
Packed and loaded together
Frames were bubble-wrapped, marble got corner protectors and leather was covered in foam before everything went into export cartons. We supervised the loading of the whole order into one container, filled from the floor to the doors, which then went to port for Jebel Ali.
After the container reached Dubai
Once the container arrived we stayed available while the client’s own team unpacked and set up each restaurant, checking the cartons received against the packing list until every site had its furniture. The flat-packed terrace tables carried their fixings and assembly instructions in the carton.
What arrived matched the approved samples: a single specification and inspection standard across three specialist factories, and a single container. For how we source this kind of furniture for commercial projects, see public area and restaurant furniture and outdoor furniture.
Questions about this project
What was in the furniture package for this Dubai restaurant group?
For the terraces, WPC dining tables on powder-coated steel frames and WPC armchairs; for the lounges, leather recliner sofas in two-seat and three-seat versions and coffee tables with natural marble tops on hardwood bases. Three specialist factories in China made them, and they shipped together in one container to Jebel Ali.
Why WPC instead of natural timber on the terraces?
The group dines outdoors for most of the year, which meant the terrace furniture had to handle strong sun, heat and daily restaurant use. The specification therefore used UV-stable WPC slats on steel frames with a marine-grade powder coat, not natural timber.
Why were three factories used?
No one factory makes all three products well: WPC and steel terrace sets, recliner sofas and stone-top coffee tables each come from a different kind of factory, and we use each one only for what its line actually makes.
When was the furniture inspected?
Once, by our own team, when bulk production was finished and before shipment, line by line: slats, fasteners, frames and coating on the terrace sets, with chairs from different batches assembled as a test; the recliner mechanisms and the leather on the sofas; the marble tops on the coffee tables. Anything that failed was repaired or replaced before it was packed.
Can FBM Furniture run the same process for our restaurant or hospitality project?
Yes. Send an FF&E schedule or product list, area by area, with quantities, plus drawings for any custom pieces, and tell us where the project is so we check the standards your market requires. Where your project fits our service, we can quote one product group first as a reference; if quality and terms fit, we continue with the rest.
More from FBM Furniture
Have a restaurant or hospitality package to quote?
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