Dutch Chairs for a Dutch Cruise Ship

William Schuitema poses with an armchair (left), designed by NB-Seattle that will be used in Eurodam’s cabins, the chair in the middle was designed by Frans Dingemans and further developed by Frits Schuitema and used on Zuiderdam, and the art deco chair on the right also was designed by Frits Schuitema and used on Carnival Pride.

William Schuitema, CEO of Best of Europe Furniture Co., knows chairs. His company has supplied thousands of chairs to Holland America Line since 1996.

“I met someone collecting furniture for Holland America Line ships and other Carnival ships,” recalled Schuitema. “The architect was interested in four of our chairs, but he couldn’t promise me anything.

“So we sent four chairs. Some weeks later they called us and told us the architects chose three of the four chairs we sent out of 150 other chairs. They chose our chairs for the dining room and for some other areas.”

‘You can buy a cheap chair, but you have to replace it after two or three years. The Rotterdam still uses the chairs we supplied over 10 years ago.’
— William Schuitema

Since then, William Schuitema and his brother Frits, who designs the chairs, have put their chairs on every Holland America ship, including Eurodam. When they first started, Schuitema says, architects would choose an existing model, but then would want some changes made. But Frits Schuitema designs chairs with factory production in mind, and the requested alterations were usually impractical.

“Then the architect Franz Dingemans began to draw his own models and my brother translated these sketches into real drawings so we could use them in the factory to produce the chairs, also desks and all the kinds of furniture,” he said.

Most of the company’s chairs are made in Holland, but materials come from suppliers across Western Europe. “We use French oak from France and from Yugoslavia, Slovenian oak,” Schuitema said. “Beechwood we also use, but always from European sources, most of the time Holland. There is a lot of handwork, but what can be done with a machine, we do with computerized machinery.”

Schuitema said that his company produces high quality, but not inexpensive, furniture. “You can buy a cheap chair, but you have to replace it after two or three years. The Rotterdam still uses the chairs we supplied over 10 years ago. So when you are calculating, the chairs aren’t as expensive as you first think they are, because you can use them for many years.”

The Schuitemas have developed some tricks that help their chairs last longer. “We make the front legs a little bit tapered so the top is a little less wide than the chair’s feet. That way, when the chairs touch each other, it’s only at carpet level. If they are damaged, it’s only on the bottom of the leg, not at the armrest, where it would be more visible.

Schuitema says that selling chairs to cruise lines is a fascinating business, but it’s also very competitive. “We have to compete nowadays as a European manufacturer with countries like America, like China,” he said. “So we have to think very carefully about the way we produce chairs. We have to automatize as much as possible, otherwise, we can’t compete with lower-priced countries.”