Navailles

A French Chair Maker for Professional Environments

Navailles has manufactured seating since 1966 from its facility in Hagetmau, in the Landes region of southwestern France. The company operates as a direct manufacturer serving professional markets across France and Europe, selling primarily to hospitals, medical facilities, laboratories, and industrial workshops, and it also runs an E-Shop Bureau, an online shop for office seating linked from the main menu. The site does not publish a definitive list of delivery countries but emphasizes its role as a European leader in medicalized seating since 2010. The company holds the Origine France Garantie certification as of 2022, indicating that manufacturing occurs in France. The company describes its guiding philosophy with a quote: "On ne s'appuie que sur ce qui résiste" (you only lean on what resists). The site says more than a hundred people ("plus d'une centaine de talents") work there, from preliminary sketches through final chair assembly.

The range spans medical chairs, laboratory seating, production stools, and office armchairs, all manufactured in-house. The site identifies four main product categories. Fauteuil Médical (medical chairs) comprise chairs designed specifically for healthcare environments and patient care settings, described on the site as part of the company's evolution in serving hospital and medical needs. Chaise de Laboratoire (laboratory chairs) are engineered for technical and analytical work environments and respond to laboratory-specific requirements. Tabouret de Production (production stools) serve intensive industrial and workshop use in production settings. Fauteuil de Bureau (office armchairs) round out the lineup for administrative and professional office work. The company describes its approach as "assises à façon", or custom-built seating: the manufacturing process involves internal tooling design, steel tube welding and fabrication, fabric cutting and sewing, foam padding, and final assembly. The site emphasizes that each design challenge is approached individually rather than through standardized templates. The company notes that it builds its own tools in-house, starting from a piece it calls "un peu casse-tête" (a bit of a puzzle), and treats each technical challenge as its own.

The manufacturing process spans several specialized workshops on a site the company puts at twenty-one thousand square meters ("vingt-et-un mille mètres carrés"). A tube workshop handles steel frames up to 6 meters in length, including bending, swaging, and controlled mechanical operations. The site likens walking through this workshop to wandering through "une forêt étonnante", a park of steel stems up to six meters tall. A sewing workshop performs fabric cutting using computer-aided cutting machines, though the site notes that hand-shearing tools remain in use alongside automated equipment; the site describes this section as a place where craftspeople work to music after morning warm-ups. Padding and assembly are performed by hand. The site states that prototyping is rigorous, with each product undergoing testing before industrialization to ensure durability, comfort, safety, and ease of use. The company emphasizes that its artisanal manufacturing has made autonomy a radical choice: it makes its own tools and tackles technical challenges as creative problems rather than routine production. The sales and service side involves 7 commercial representatives and 8 customer service assistants dedicated to product selection and custom requirements. The company's customer service is described as not merely administrative but as a problem-solving function; the site states that if a customer has questions or particular constraints, the team seeks to satisfy them on both product quality and advice. The site does not publish specific adjustment ranges, weight ratings, seat height ranges, warranty periods, or trial terms.

Delivery is handled through logistics partnerships with ISO 9001-certified transporters. Large orders are shipped via truck leasing or parcel carriers. The site states that the company prioritizes reducing carbon emissions by consolidating shipments with other companies and investing in electric vehicle fleets, though specific delivery timeframes and costs are not published. The company office is located at ZI de Rond-point d'Espagne, route d'Orthez, 40700 Hagetmau, France, reachable at telephone +33 5 58 79 50 50 or info@navailles.fr. The company offers customer support through its sales team and customer service function but does not publish a return policy, assembly service availability, or spare parts options. The site describes a design bureau (bureau d'études) that innovates continuously and listens to customer feedback to propose increasingly ergonomic and functional products. The design process involves study, iteration, testing for compliance and feasibility, and verification, with, in the site's words, "de nombreux regards curieux" turned toward the people given a free hand (carte blanche) to experiment, until the manufacturing process is set. The company names well-being at work as its primary objective and has organized its services around that goal.

The company positions itself as serving the needs of different customer types through a relationship-based approach rather than transactional retail. The site states that its main objective is well-being at work ("bien-être au travail") and that it has developed and perfected services that are both essential and complementary around its products. Its research and development bureau exists specifically at the heart of the creation and continuous improvement process, with engineers, draftspeople, designers, and prototypers listening to customer feedback to propose increasingly ergonomic and functional products. The company says it puts the real needs of the market at the center of its design work ("les besoins réels du marché au centre de notre conception"). The sewing workshop section includes specific mention of humor and camaraderie among workers, suggesting a culture where craftsmanship and human connection are valued. The site presents the finished product with pride, noting that workers smile when their chairs appear on television and recognize them as Navailles products.

Outside the office-chair e-shop, whose catalog the site says includes models such as Strong Auguste and Lead Ernest, the model involves sales representatives and customer service staff working directly with clients to understand specific needs. The site states that there is always a human voice and character behind each situation and decision, with administrative, quality, technical, and service staff all dedicated to solving problems as they arise. The company's 7 commercial representatives and 8 customer service assistants work as a team to support clients through the selection and ordering process. The emphasis is on responsiveness and problem-solving rather than catalog browsing. This relationship-based model suggests that buyers interact directly with the company rather than placing orders independently.

What the Navailles site does not settle includes specific adjustment ranges for any model, seat height and depth dimensions, weight capacity ratings, armrest travel distances, backrest tilt ranges, lumbar support specifications, fabric composition, upholstery options, chair sizes for different user heights, warranty length and coverage terms, return windows, delivery costs, lead times for custom orders, and any named testing standard for its chairs. The site emphasizes custom manufacturing and direct sales to professional accounts rather than consumer retail, which suggests that pricing and specifications are determined through consultation rather than published catalog pricing. The company's first medical chair was developed in 1981, marking a turning point from office furniture into healthcare. Healthcare evolution has continued, with the company becoming the European leader in medicalized seating by 2010. Navailles suits organizations with professional seating needs, hospital purchasing departments, laboratory managers, and industrial facilities seeking customized solutions and direct consultation; its emphasis on direct relationships and custom manufacturing suggests it is less suited to individuals seeking off-the-shelf consumer purchases, although an office buyer can start with the E-Shop Bureau.