Golden Technologies hits its stride

OLD FORGE, Pa. – CEO Rich Golden says Golden Technologies has come a long way since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, as evidenced by a recent announcement that the company has reduced lead times on in-stock power lift recliners to one week and custom build orders to six weeks. 

At their peak, the company’s lead times for custom build orders extended to nine weeks, driven by increased demand but offset by workforce and supply chain challenges. 

“We are now fully staffed with renewed energy,” he said. 

Here's what Golden had to say about how the company pivoted from “business as usual” to where it is today. 

The situation 

The costs of many of the company’s major raw materials – metal for lift chair scissor mechanisms; frames for lift chairs, scooters and power wheelchairs; wood, foam and cardboard for all of its packaging – have increased between 6% to 20%.  

“Container shortages have had a massive impact on the ocean freight supply chain by creating delays, low inventories and extremely high prices, which have affected not only ports but cargo depots across the country,” Golden said. “Golden is paying substantially more than the normal cost of containers to transport our materials from around the world. We have utilized air freight to avoid manufacturing delays.” 

The difference 

The company has consolidated three warehouses into an expanded 170,000-square-foot warehouse for improved shipping efficiencies, with the possibility of more inventory to reduce backlog; more efficient inventory tracking; and faster shipment processing. 

“Over 110,000 square feet are dedicated to finished goods fully racked, six levels high,” Golden said. “The remaining space is used for partially racked raw materials and bulk floor storage for items that cannot be racked. It includes a state-of-the-art system that currently has 15,000 racking locations and the capability for 21,000 locations reserved for future growth. This new set-up utilizes a wire-guided forklift system and scanned locations for each product.” 

The loyalty 

The company credits its retailers, which have “stood by us as we navigated the ups and downs of change,” and its employees, which have “showed up” throughout the pandemic. 

“Under unprecedented conditions and facing personal challenges, each team member in production and traffic, customer and technical service, accounting, marketing, and sales showed up day after day and did everything they could to continue to provide customers with the power lift recliners and mobility products they so desperately needed,” Golden said.