- Huge Installed Base- Easily Refrabricated
- Wood Panels can be easily cut
- Clone product is available
- Easy and fast to install
There are probably more AO2 stations in existing inventory than any other system. This is because Action Office has been continually manufactured since 1968. AO2, with the fixed, four-circuit electrical base, has been in service since the 80s. All action office components work with AO2 no matter what generation or when they were made. So product compatibility is assured.
AO2 is easily refabricated. You can change the fabric on AO2 quite easily. There are many people in almost every major U.S.
city who can do the remanufacturing. So if you have some, you can always get more to match without buying new.
You can cut down AO2 panels. Almost every other cubicle system has panels with metal frames. If you want to cut one to a lower height or a narrower width, you need a blowtorch and a welder. With AO2, you just need a saw. I recently had a client that loved some 6x8 AO2 cubicles I had, but their space was not quite big enough. Solution: we cut panels from 48 wide to 42 wide and made them 6x7.5.
Third Party clones exist for AO2. When the patents expired for Action Office several years back, several folks started making components that work with Herman Miller’s AO2. Called clones by the industry, these parts are less expensive and can often be purchased from existing stock. Also, anyone who makes good quality laminate worktops can make them for the stations as well.
Some of the clone folks have even come up with add-ons not made by Herman Miller. Window inserts of various sizes and materials, unusual heights, white board panels, 120-degree connectors, even a door that slid into the panel, called a pocket door. The pocket door was so popular that Herman Miller bought the patent and discontinued the manufacture of it, killing a competitor. Recently Herman Miller lost a 300 station job to one of these clone manufacturers. They couldn’t compete on price.
There is even a green version made from locally sourced and re-used components with fabric from plastic bottles called GQA.
Finally, the system is by far the fastest and easiest to install. No tiles, no special tools and the panels are light to carry. No wonder installers also like AO2 the best.
