In 2000, Symmons Industries, Inc., a premier manufacturer of commercial and residential plumbing products headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts, took a gamble that held promise of paying long-term rewards.

That year, Symmons pursued the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino job in Uncasville, CT. The company faced a challenge with this job, because although their quality behind the wall was respected, they offered nothing in their regular product lines that corresponded with the proposed Native American design theme of Mohegan. On a long-shot bet, Symmons built a model to complement the theme described by the Mohegan design team in record time and submitted its model for consideration.

That effort paid off when the 1300-room Mohegan Sun project was successfully bid. Six months later the modeling process used for the Mohegan became the catalyst behind Symmons’ Signature Design Studio: a revolutionary design process that yields custom-designed and custom-manufactured bathroom fittings for luxury hotels, resorts, destination locations, condominiums and upscale residential properties. More importantly, the Mohegan Sun installation signaled Symmons’ recognition of a growing demand in the hospitality industry—the need for hotels to update their décor and amenities with unique designs in an effort to distinguish themselves from competition and, consequently, strengthen their brand by creating unique lodging experiences rich with the feeling of personal luxury.

Symmons has always had a reputation of being a quality manufacturer, and for years set the standard as the choice of engineers demanding the best technology behind the wall. Yet when it came to achieving a desired ambience in a bathroom, Symmons had a hard time meeting the call, and all too often ended up yielding ground to less reliable manufacturers who offered more aesthetic lines of bathroom fittings.

After the Mohegan Sun project, the team at Symmons noted that more and more designers, engineers and owners were expressing disappointment with other manufacturers, who provided nothing more than off-the-shelf fixtures and valves that were prone to serious quality and maintenance issues. Responding to this market interest, Symmons decided to make some changes to capitalize on the needs of customers. A study of model-making, tooling and design capability yielded a new and unique product design and production process – and thus, Signature Design Studio was born.

At the same time, the Symmons marketing department developed a sales pitch targeted at select designers in the industry. These industry experts were intrigued, and soon Symmons began submitting the Signature Design Studio on projects nationwide.

Symmons’ new design approach is taking the industry to a completely new level. For most designers, the goal is to create products that reflect the styles and trends of the day. Conversely, Symmons’ approach is to give the customer a look created just for them, regardless of current styles. This not only ensures a more unique look, but a “timeless” one, one that will not become outdated as the fickle winds of style blow in a different direction – which they tend to do all too quickly.

“Ultimately, this approach reflects the out-of-the-box thinking that is inherent to the company’s culture and name,” says Symmons’ Vice President of Marketing, Dominic Solis. “The company is built on a time-tested reputation for innovation. We invented the first fully pressure-balancing shower valve decades ago, which set the pace for other companies to follow suit. Making this jump to an entirely new way of doing business was far too risky an endeavor for many companies in this industry. At Symmons we are encouraged to take the initiative – to risk a failed idea.”

The unique nature of the work that the Symmons’ Design Studio engages in is exemplified by a project for Mandarin Oriental, New York, arguably the most luxurious property in New York City. The project involved the development of a product design that had never been done. The centerpiece was a brand new type of diverter, one which would be incorporated with the valve under one escucheon rather than having the diverter separate from the valve. Further complicating the challenge for Symmons’ Director of Engineering and Signature Design, John Couture, was the fact that the diverter - which would be a simple push button device - would need to not only be capable of redirecting the incoming flow from the shower head to an accompanying handspray, but default the flow back to the shower head position, even if the person who last used it had not reset it. The system would further feature an extremely high-pressure shower valve with a nine-gallon-a-minute overhead rain showerhead and valve that was not only pressure- balanced, but met all of the engineering specifications for ease of use as well as the design and appearance criteria that produced a truly one-of-a-kind offering. All in all, Mandarin Oriental, New York was looking to create a shower experience that was nothing short of incredible.

While Symmons’ venture into customization has thus far generated obvious benefits, it has not been without considerable cost. The Signature Design Studio has proven to be an expensive concept, requiring automated machinery and unique modeling equipment and software. One machine that turns a three dimensional drawing into a plastic model in a few hours costs about $160,000 alone. Another laser-based machine etches the customers’ name or logo into the faceplates. While the expense shows no signs of abating, the capabilities that Symmons is acquiring are believed to be well worth the cost.

“We’re currently testing a software program called Design Studio Live that will allow our sales team to send concepts via a high-speed Internet connection back to our plant from a customer’s office,” Solis explained. “Then, the engineer at the other end will be able to start producing prototypes immediately, which can be sent back to the customer for immediate viewing.”

Symmons is not only looking to the near future, but far beyond. In as little as ten years, the company aspires to have do-it-yourself design capabilities which will allow any customer to tweak or customize handles and spouts from different starter kits. The customer’s unique design can be printed and sent to Symmons, where parts will be made, boxed and shipped in a matter of days. What’s more, Symmons’ entire manufacturing workforce is in the midst of an eight year “Continuous Improvement Project,” or “Kaizen,” as the concept’s inventor Toyota would call it. Presently 85 percent of all orders are made and shipped within two days of order entry. Symmons aims to continuously improve on this benchmark.

While the customer benefits of customization are obvious, the investment in technology does not come without risk.

“There is no doubt that we’re going to encounter roadblocks and obstacles over the next five years,” said Solis. “But we are confident we will persevere and bring about positive change in spite of these obstacles.”

No one should bet against Symmons in that regard. There’s little doubt that the company will keep moving forward in this new direction, just as they were able to establish themselves as the “behind the wall” experts over 40 years ago.

And to think, this radical new direction that is reshaping Symmons and is creating, broadening design demand began with one small gamble on a casino project.

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