Timeline Update: A Roughly 4-Week Shift

I'll get straight to it: the estimated production schedule is going to shift by about four weeks. I want to be transparent about why, so here's the full picture.

Reason 1: Plywood Delivery Times

The main cause is on the side of the manufacturer producing the wooden side elements. It turns out their plywood supplier has a delivery time of four weeks (something that wasn't accounted for in the original plan). Initially they told me they could produce the first batch of 50 sets within four weeks of approving the samples, which would have landed around mid-June.

Their new estimate is that the first batch will be ready to ship on July 17th. I'd expect about a week for it to arrive in Berlin after that. So if everything goes according to the revised plan, we should be able to ship the first units at the end of July or beginning of August.

Reason 2: A Color Mix-Up With the Slats

The slat manufacturer started production, but the images they sent me looked off. As it turned out, they had started with the lighter gray instead of the darker one. I sent them a physical sample I had on hand so they can match the correct color.

I've requested an updated timeline but haven't received it yet. My expectation is that this will add roughly two weeks. If that holds, we should have the first batch of slats by the end of June. Which means we can start assembling the slats while we wait for the side elements to arrive, and then complete the first full units once everything is together.

What This Means

The short version: a delay of about four weeks, but production is moving forward on both fronts. The slats are in production (just being color-corrected), and the plywood for the side elements has been ordered so we have a concrete ship date now.

In parallel, I'll use the manufacturers' estimates to put together a detailed production plan. The goal is to figure out exactly how much personnel and workspace we'll need to work through all the preorders at a steady pace. It's a bit of a balancing act though. I want to hire enough people and set up enough workstations to get your units shipped without unnecessary delays, but not so many that we end up with way too much capacity once the initial Kickstarter peak is fulfilled. Getting this ramp-up right is something I'm putting a lot of thought into.

I'll keep you updated as soon as I have better estimates. Especially the revised timeline from the slat manufacturer. Thanks as always for your patience!

Johannes