Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Lichtenstein.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Scott. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My father started Richardson Seating in 1975 with my grandfather. My grandfather passed away in 1983 and my father took over.
I saw that he was able to take care of my family with Richardson Seating. After I graduated from University of Arizona in 2003 I decided that I want to be able to take care of a family one day and I was lucky to have a company to go into.
In 2003, I started my career at Richardson Seating.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In 2009 Earl, my father, was ready to retire and sell the company to Ira and I. He didn’t like some of the new ideas that we had come up with and thought that we did not fully understand what it would take to run a company.
We all decided to bring in a 3rd party consultant to help us with the transition. It was one of the best decisions that we made.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Richardson Seating Corp – what should we know?
When I started working in 2003 I was shown the production side. I started to learn what we did and how we did it. I slowly took over the production scheduling and process improvement. We started to get better at producing quality products in a timely manner.
I think that one thing that I am really proud of is that we lowered our lead time on quick ship products to 1 business day. If a customer orders today we will ship the following business day.
There are a few things that Richardson Seating does well. We produce high quality upholstery furniture in only a few weeks. Our products will last for many years and re-orders will look identical. We are a union shop and produce all of our furniture in Chicago IL.
Our customer service is incredible. I tell our staff that they can’t say no to our customers. Since we are in Chicago and American Made we can adjust production to help our clients with timing or modifying a SKU slightly to fit what the client needs. We are adaptable.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My brother and I are involved owners. That helps us be able to change our direction if we think that it will benefit the company. My brother and I are on the same page when it comes to the big decisions that helps move in the right directions quickly.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2545 W Arthington St. Chicago IL 60612
- Website: www.richardsonseating.com
- Phone: 312-829-4040
- Email: scott@richardsonseating.com
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