Do you know where your furniture was made? Maybe it’s time to connect with the items that bring style and function to your space. That is the premise behind Haddy, an acronym for heroic, agile, design, durable, and yours. Haddy is a furniture manufacturer committed to delivering elegant, functional, 3D printed furniture that meets the needs of American consumers while cutting down on waste.
Haddy is featured in “Furnishing the Future,” the second episode of the new IMTS+ Original Series “Passion Project.” The series explores the connections between manufacturing technology and the personal passions of the creators and doers who make up our industry.
Furniture plays an essential role in our lives – from working and dining to relaxing, gathering with loved ones, and collaborating with colleagues. While efforts exist to create more sustainable furnishings, the industry still faces major environmental challenges. Haddy is helping lead the way by moving furniture production closer to home and embracing circular practices that benefit both consumers and the planet.
Haddy is the brainchild of John “Jay” Rogers, an entrepreneur with a background in the automotive industry and deep manufacturing roots. With the dual goals of simplifying and improving the furniture sector, Haddy is tapping into the capabilities of 3D printing while ensuring sustainability through upcycling.
Ditching Disposable
Furniture, especially mass-marketed affordable furniture, is meant to be disposable. Lifespans for core pieces of furniture have gotten shorter as wood and luxury fabrics have made way for pressboard and other, cheaper alternatives.
Adding to this environmental burden, most furniture is made in other countries and shipped long distances to be stored in warehouses while awaiting sale and distribution throughout the United States. Haddy is built on the premise that furniture can be selected, designed, printed, and delivered on demand using regional micro factories.
“Furniture is going to be a trillion-dollar industry, so we have to manage the amount of waste created by the industry,” explained Rogers.
Haddy is applying material science to improve sustainability. “Our materials can be broken into two families,” explains Rogers. “There is the regenerative biosphere, which includes anything that can be composted and can range from wood fibers to coffee, and the circular technosphere, including recycled water bottles and industrial plastics.”
Both organic and non-organic salvaged materials are transformed into pellets for additive manufacturing (AM), giving items that would be trash new life as functional furniture. Fun fact: A coffee shop could now have tables that smell like… coffee.
In addition to addressing distribution and design, Haddy also builds circularity into all of the new products it creates. Furniture pieces include a radio frequency identification tag, so everything is fully traceable. When a consumer is ready for a new piece of furniture, they can return the old piece and recoup a share of the value. Haddy will then recycle the old furniture to make new pieces. The process, called “Haddy Inside,” has the potential to dramatically reduce waste in furniture production.
Entering the Industry
Haddy entered the massive furniture industry in 2022, starting with 3D printed tables and planters designed for a premium retailer.
AM, it turns out, is the perfect application for building items like large, decorative planters. Common planter materials can be prohibitively heavy – think stone, concrete, or terra cotta. Plastic and fiberglass can be costly and lack strength.
Using AM, Haddy developed a series of 30 slightly different planters for a restaurant client. When put together, the 3D printed planters provided an aesthetically pleasing separation between the sidewalk and the dining area, resembling a wave topped with beautiful flowers.
“We were able to make each planter different using 3D printing while ensuring they all were the same weight and size. This project would not have been possible with other materials,” concludes Rogers.
Haddy’s process allows consumers to select furniture and have it printed near the point of use, eliminating the need for large warehouses or lengthy shipping times. By tracking products and ensuring circularity, Haddy also addresses the massive waste in the furniture industry. All products are made from recyclable materials. Hence, they can be repurposed as raw materials instead of being discarded at the end of their life-cycle.
Inspiration On; Lights Out
Rogers emphasized that their modernized furniture design and production process is fueled by technology but driven by human brilliance. While human experts design furniture and create the programs to print it, robots perform the repetitive, physical tasks.
At their flagship location, Haddy uses eight 8-axis robotic arms to help build the 3D printed furniture. “We use people in design and logistics, but they are not actually making furniture,” Rogers explained. “We can do lights-out manufacturing. Our process for building furniture can be monitored from the couch, while the robots work all night.”
Most of us have owned furniture that eventually ended up on the curb or in a dumpster – objects that once served us well but were not designed to last. Haddy offers a better way forward: furniture that’s made locally, designed for durability, and fully recyclable. It’s a vision for a more sustainable future, where thoughtful design meets environmental responsibility. That’s the kind of furniture the future deserves.
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