Outdoor Lifestyle Vice President, Virginia Hamilton, announced that the company would celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary of business in the United States on April 19th with an afternoon ice cream party and celebration for their employees. According to Virginia, “It is through the service of our employees, and the loyalty of our customers, that we are able to mark this milestone”.

Fred Ilse is the President of Outdoor Lifestyle, managing operations in its US production facility. The company’s parent company is located in South Africa, and is managed by Fred’s brother, Hans. The United States state-of-the-art facility is approximately 70,000 square feet and is based in Stanley, NC. It is from here that all of the manufacturing is done by their 23 employees to provide service to the US, Canadian and Caribbean markets.

Originally the company was envisioned as merely a central hub where product from the parent company could be efficiently shipped throughout the US from Charlotte, NC. Quickly Outdoor Lifestyle management realized that if the company combined the classic and casual styles familiar to native North American tastes, with the sturdy A356 premium metal already used in product castings, it would create an even more desirable product line. Very quickly consumer demand created a need to dramatically expand operations. This led to a move to Gastonia, NC and eventually into its present Stanley, NC facility. Currently all US manufacturing, management and marketing operations are all coordinated and overseen in Stanley, NC.

Outdoor Lifestyle offers a full line of cast aluminum furniture suitable for residential or commercial use. The full catalog is available on the website (www.olfurniture.com) which also provides quick access to all relevant furnishing details and collection information. Additionally, the company maintains Suite 1599 at the Chicago Merchandise Mart and is an exhibitor at the BDNY Show, which is held in conjunction with the IHMRS.

Outdoor Lifestyle is proud to be a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, a group that promotes environmentally responsible practices throughout the entire furniture manufacturing process. The company started with, and continues a strong commitment to “green” technologies and believes it has a role to play in responsible stewardship of the Earth.