A New Year
by Dean Williams

New Year, New Products
The OPS Elevation Chairs have arrived! Executive Task Chairs A2, B3, B6, and Executive Guest Chair C1. Have a look on our website, or click on the images below.

OPS2 Tile System
The product is in and we are ready to manufacture. Giza has delayed the launch by pushing us out until February for us to have all of the new symbols in place. This will give us some time to offer mock ups and test both the manufacturing and installation of the products. We are using these panels in our design department and will have new displays on the floor. We will use a matrix approach to selecting which tiles go on the frame. This is the same approach that Global Evolve uses. View our Flyer.

Manufacturing - New Facility
We have continued to reinvest our money into the company. This year we have purchased a new $100,000 panel saw, a new $40,000 mobile showroom along with about $50K - $75K in additional items like fork lifts, other warehouse items, and computer equipment. In addition we have increased our inventory value by $500,000. We will soon be purchasing a new $150,000 laminate line and spending $250,000 to upgrade our paint line. We are developing new techniques to improve and speed up fabric assembly production in addition to adding on more fabric tables.
I expect that we will be transitioning soon from our 90,000 square foot receiving / production prep warehouse to a 128,000 square foot facility. This will also house our shipping department and allow more room for growth at our main facility.

New Case Goods - Coming Soon
I have selected the manufacturer for our case goods and we will be offering two laminates and two wood finishes for our desk and components. I am hoping we will have them in stock by the end of the first quarter.

Sales
by Jay Bryson
Notes from the Director of Sales

Happy New Year! I think the entire industry is looking forward to 2011. It is with interest that I read the Monday Morning QB this week, with all of the positive financial reports from the large OEM's. If you put stock in what is printed, it does appear that 2011 could be a turn around year for our industry which would be a welcome change. On the heels of an improving economy, the manufacturers have been pressured and presented with raw material price increases from every direction for some time now. While List Price changes have been almost non-existent of late, we believe this will change in 2011. Herman Miller has already announced a yet to be determined price increase. Open Plan will be doing the same and anticipate that our price increase will take place in 2nd Quarter of 2011. Further, we are announcing a 3% pricing increase on our Pedestals and a 3% increase in our Lateral Files. This will take effect on February 1, 2011. While no one is excited about price increases, it is a necessary step to maintain our infrastructure and therefore our long-term competitiveness. Given that most if not all Manufacturers will announce price-increases, we believe our position as a quality-driven, value alternative will remain the same in 2011.

Thank you for your support through 2010 and we look forward to mutually beneficial success in 2011.

Customer Service
by Dina FInk

Happy New Year, with 2010 behind us we are very excited about 2011, with the launch of our 4 new OPS chairs, the OPS2 Tile System and some additions to our Fabric and Finishes we feel 2011 is going to show you why Open Plan Systems is the best choice for you. As always our number one goal is to provide our dealers with the best customer service and a few things that we have been working on to continue to improve; Master Email Blast, will be using this to forward to you any updates as well as special promotions that we will be running. We have restructured our phone system so that you are getting a live person vs. a voicemail and finally we are providing our dealers with Product Web Training. With the web presentations we will be providing you with the tools and knowledge of our new products so you are up to date on the newest items we are carrying. If you are interested in doing one of these please reach out to Dina Fink via email at dfink@openplan.com and we will get this scheduled for you. Again we want to thank all of our dealers for a great 2010 and we look forward to working with you in 2011.

Design
by Katherine Tryon
We have had a busy 2010 in design!
Our designers have completed a total of 1800 drawings for approximately 200 Open Plan dealers nationwide. This adds up to approximately 2600 hours of design time. WHEW! We are looking forward to a successful 2011 with the welcome of our updated and expanded Open Plan drawing library for 20-20 Technologies Giza and CAP Studio.

Remember...
We offer Giza web training for our dealers who have design capabilities but just need to get familiar with the Open Plan library. On behalf of our design staff Rose Steinruck, Alison Martin and Katherine Tryon, we wish everyone the best for the coming year!

Marketing
by Candice Dunlap & Michelle Roop

Fabric Updates
We have finalized our Signature, Promotional, C2, and Quick Ship Programs for 2011. Our website & product literature have been updated to reflect the changes.

Promotional Materials
OPS 2011 Calendar is available - reply to this email to receive one. Now shipping!

Have you seen the OPS Showroom?

It's coming to you!

Upcoming
Website Redesign

Dean Williams receives JAG National Network Leadership Award

Photo: (left to right) Senator George Voinovich (OH), Julie Nixon Eisenhower (Author), Scott Nelson (VP Communications and Public Affairs Educational Testing Service), Dean Williams, Owner HMU, LLC/OPS

HMU, LLC d/b/a Open Plan Systems' Dean Williams received the National Network Leadership Award from Jobs for America's Graduates in November 2010. Williams serves as board chairman of JVG, and is managing partner of HMU, LLC d/b/a Open Plan Systems in Richmond, VA.

JVG is affiliated with the JAG (Jobs for America's Graduates) program, and their mission is to "identify high school students who face barriers to education, and to guide each one on to a successful path toward continued education, a meaningful career, and productive adulthood." They serve over 1250 high school students annually, maintaining a 98% graduation rate and a 78% full-time job rate. Williams has been involved with the organization for seven years, and remains committed to helping Virginia's youth overcome obstacles and become valuable members of the emerging workforce.

HMU/Open Plan Systems Donates 19,748 Meals to Central Virginia Food Bank

HMU/Open Plan Systems donated over 6,000 lbs of food to the Central Virginia Food Bank, totaling 19,748 meals for those in need.