In the Factory with David From Incanda

David Chikwengo, manager of the upholstery department at the Incanda factory in Paarl, recently set aside some time for a quick sit down to answer a few questions.

David has been working for Incanda for the past 10 years. When he started out, he was employed as a general worker, in the cushion department filling the cushions. Today David is one of the managers in an ever-growing factory, working harder than ever before.

A normal day at the office for David?

“My day is usually made up of walking more than ten thousand steps – up and down the factory – and forgetting to take teatime!”

Besides getting his steps in, managing the upholstery department comes with its own challenges. When the pace of the stitching department and frame building does not correspond, a snowball effect accrues. This causes a delay in reaching the daily target. The daily target refers to the quantity of units they need to complete each day to achieve the current lead-time of each order.

When you take any Incanda couch and pick it apart layer for layer, according to David, here’s what you’ll find:

114mm and 76mm pine wood comprises the frame and then it is assembled with 76mm screws and wood glue.
The frame is then lined with 25mm foam and 50mm foam on the arms.
5 leather skins cover the entire couch
For the seat cushions, 150mm solid foam and chip foam is used for the back cushions

Here’s a few questions we asked David:

Q: What product is the most challenging to produce?

A: I would say the Scarborough chair and Karoo Classic couch as they need a lot of shaping on the frame.

Q: How would you describe the growth of the brand over time?

A: Incanda has grown to one of the Big Five in South Africa. When I joined Incanda we were less than 20 people, now we have more than 150 people and still growing.

Q: What is your favourite Incanda product?

A: Two of my favourite products are the Chesterfield and Hand stitched chairs.

Q: Describe the production challenges you face in the factory as a team?

A: One of the most challenging situations we face is when some of our production team doesn’t show up for work. This affects the whole production line.

Q: What is it like for you working for Incanda?

A: Working at Incanda is like a dream come true!

The team at Incanda is a family, and even though they have grown from 20 – 150 people over the past 10 years, they always grow together, no one left behind.