Meet Orangebox, one of the UK’s leading furniture manufacturers. As an international company with a showroom and co-working space in the heart of London’s Design Center, Orangebox set to revamp their office environment with more agile and flexible solutions fit for the post-pandemic collaboration needs. Looking for collaboration technology that has a small footprint, is platform agnostic, intuitive and easy to use, and will help reduce operational costs, Orangebox chose Barco ClickShare Conference.
Working smarter and more efficiently
When the company was founded in 2002, Orangebox team was relatively small and everyone knew everyone. However over the last fifteen years, they have grown dramatically, and now number more than 450 people. This can make remaining close to all colleagues a challenge.
Today, Orangebox’s 20,000 sq ft Smartworking Showroom in London serves as a co-working space for both customers and employees, which is why they needed to offer a seamless collaboration solution that is easy to set up. Orangebox was looking for a simple and flexible tool to enable hybrid working, and to allow every employee to fully participate in meetings and join the conversation, no matter where they are. The solution helps give all participants an equal chance to participate in the meeting, helping to see body language, hear nuances and equally join in on the conversation. By empowering visitors and staff to connect in less than seven seconds using the ClickShare Button & App, Orangebox can now run better hybrid meetings as part of their modernised offices.
Since ClickShare Conference was installed in Orangebox’s office in 2021, users have been enjoying the same simplicity in the meeting rooms similar to a work-from-home set-up, being able to keep on using personal devices to run and wirelessly host hybrid meetings while making full use of the AV set up.
Agnostic, wireless video conferencing
As an agnostic platform, employees and staff can pick any UC&C platforms they want, unlike a traditional room system which is tied with inflexibility and has a higher operation cost. With only one click, a video meeting is setup, linking in-house participants with remote participants, bringing speed and efficiency. “The solution also helped bring down operation cost within 18 months and was able to help us transition to the new way of hybrid working, whilst reducing our carbon footprint,” says Liz Walker.
Additionally, to meet the clean and modern look of its offices, Orangebox was keen to select a wireless solution that reduces clutter and makes desk space available for working. With the office gradually adjusting to cater for a hybrid way of working, the design of the modern workplace has been changing too. Working spaces are becoming more agile and smart, catering towards the needs of the hybrid worker by reducing desk space whilst equipping the office with the latest technology solutions to drive collaboration. Today, Orangebox employees and guests don’t need to physically connect any cables to the display and AV peripherals. This aligns with the company’s belief that smart working enables their clients to work in new, more collaborative and effective ways, and can help transform both the culture and efficiency of their organizations.
“Empowering staff and customers to connect virtually also helps create stronger connections and a higher form of collaboration. Thanks to Barco ClickShare Conference, the existing barrier between collaborating with one and other has been removed. It’s opened up lots of flexibility and our staff and guests can enjoy what our showroom has to offer,” added Liz Walker.
Orangebox worked with specialist technology and workplace integrator coodart, to ensure a coherent design, installation and onboarding process.
“The purpose of the project is to bring Orangebox to have the latest collaboration technology, making hybrid working effective for both internal and external users, and reduce business operation cost. ClickShare Conference was the product chosen to help Orangebox update their technology solutions because of its versatility and ease of use. Firstly, not only it reduces operation costs, but the product also brings greater efficiency and agility to the company’s employees and customers,” said Philip Stoddart, co-founder and director at coodart.
“Not only did our partners at coodart take the time to fully understand the technology they are selling, they are also constantly making sure the solution is suitable for the end users, from quality installation to getting involved from the beginning,” commented Anthony Wright, Sales Director UK/IRE/Nordics at Barco who oversaw the project.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
