Radian Corp.
Brookfield
www.radianlife.com
Innovation: Heated Office Chair
A heated car seat on a frigid winter morning in Wisconsin is, perhaps, one of life’s most basic luxuries.
Brookfield-based Radian Corp. seeks to bring that luxury to the office with the development of the heated office chair.
“I came in to the office one winter morning and noticed my office manager had a space heater running, a sweater on and a second sweater draped over her desk,” said Dean Mouradian, president of Brookfield-based U.S. Automation Inc., and founder of Radian Corp. “After seeing her I thought, ‘There has to be something out there to help with this.’”
Mouradian was looking for a heated office chair. When he didn’t find anything on the market, or by doing a patent search, he set out to make one.
He started working on a prototype at U.S. Automation, using heaters for the automotive industry.
Boss Office Products showed interest and unveiled the heated chair at a trade show in 2012. The chairs hit the market in 2013.
The chair has a chargeable battery that can provide 8 to 10 hours of continuous use. Future models will include an on/off pressure switch and different temperature controls and potential cooling features.
“The response from the market has truly been incredible,” Mouradian said.
The manufacturers have been flagged with learning curve problems because traditional chair manufacturers’ skilled expertise is not electrical work, but the concept has been proven, Mouradian said.
“Boss anticipates selling more than 100,000 units or more a year of this chair,” he said.
The chairs currently aren’t being sold directly to the public. They are available through Boss Office Products and their existing distributor network, Mouradian said.
