April 2006 [<<] ERGONOMIC FURNITURE BUSINESS MOVES DOWNTOWN. By Brad Carlson AD-AS, which designs and manufactures specialty ergonomic furniture, purchased a 25,000 square-foot building at 27th and Idaho streets in downtown Boise. New pockets of demand include the radiology and criminology fields, for which ADAS produces specialty workstations, said Gary Davis, Product Manager. Davis said the Los Angeles Police Department recently picked AD-AS to design and manufacture specialized ergonomic workstations that crime investigators will use in a new regional crime lab. AD-AS will supply the crime lab with tables that have magnetic surfaces and can be tilted, raised and lowered-enabling criminologists to work effectively over long hours, he said. The Boise company, which makes technical furniture for a Boeing's electronics assembly plant in Portland, sees demand rising in the radiology area. "A lot of the top hospitals have been converting from film X-rays to digital, and along with that there are some ergonomic challenges in that radiologists now look at monitors much more," Davis said. Using digital X-ray technology to view, archive and retrieve images, radiologists spend considerable time at a single workstation, he said. An AD-AS product can accommodate multiple monitors in various configurations and positions, and is height-adjustable. AD-AS has increased its revenue by about 40 percent annually in recent years, Davis said. Market-driven demand for furniture and workstations featuring ergonomic designs-to help prevent discomfort and even injury-has continued to increase in recent years, he said. AD-AS plans to occupy the building at 27th and Idaho immediately and will add workers as demand warrants.