The C.O Designs Story

Founded in 1994, C.O Designs has established itself as a manufacturer in the furniture business that differentiates itself with quality and innovation. Engineering the Evolution of Workspaces.

Our story

Founded in 1994 by Raymond Ellerbeck in Somerset West, C.O Designs began with a simple yet powerful idea: to reimagine home office furniture at a time when personal computers were becoming household staples. One of its first innovations, The Box Office, was licensed to Makro in 1995, setting the tone for the brand’s future in scalable, functional design.

As demand grew, so did the company moving to larger factory premises in 1996 and again in 2001, and evolving its focus from home offices to large-scale corporate and educational clients. Key leaders like the late Peter Pillon and current director Graham Radford played a pivotal role in driving expansion, including landmark projects like the furnishing of Sanlam Investments’ London offices.

Through challenges and milestones, the company continued to grow, opening its Johannesburg office in 2013 and welcoming Debbie Radford as Director.

Today, C.O Designs stands at the forefront of corporate office furniture manufacturing in Southern Africa and now enters a bold new chapter. In 2025, the company became 52% Black Female-Owned, welcoming respected industry leaders Bernadette Isaacs and Lerato Moledi as majority shareholders. Their vision, paired with the deep-rooted experience of Ellerbeck and Radford, forms a united leadership committed to innovation, inclusivity, and transformation.

With over 30 years of experience, C.O Designs remains true to its promise of Engineering the Evolution of Workspaces—delivering functional, modern, and sustainable office solutions for a changing world.

Our Company Profile

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Our Purpose

We aim to make a positive contribution to businesses in South Africa by supplying products that will help them grow and create greater employment opportunities, so more people share in their success. This is a long term and ongoing motivation because our mission of designing products that help our clients to consistently improve their productivity levels, is not finite, nor will we be able to say that we’ve finally accomplished our goal. Subsequently, our work will never be finished - so there is every reason that C.O Designs will outlive many of us that work here today.

Vision

Creating productivity enhancing furniture products for workspaces.

Mission

C.O Designs’ mission is to consistently be the leading South African designer, developer, manufacturer and supplier of privacy & focus enhancing furniture and acoustic solutions that contribute to the wellbeing and increased productivity of a company's employees.

Sustainability

We strive to protect the environment through developing low carbon footprint products through low carbon operations.

Values

Winning Team

We all have different roles and responsibilities, but we work together towards the same common Goal of designing, manufacturing & supplying furniture that meets the ever-changing needs of our clients.

Excellence

Being specialists by way of focus.

We chose to be specialists by being focussed on what we are trying to master, namely designing & manufacturing productivity-enhancing furniture.

Dynamic & Innovative

Our product designs are guided by studying international trends & doing research to understand the future-of-work.

Positive Discontent

We give ourselves credit when we are doing well, but we know we can always do better.

We make small, incremental improvements daily.

Nurturing Partnerships

We develop relationships that make a positive difference in the lives of our employees, our client’s and suppliers.

Integrity

We uphold the highest standards of integrity in all our actions.

Our Journey

Discover the key milestones that shaped our company's growth and success over the years.
1994

C.O Designs Founded

Raymond Ellerbeck establishes C.O Designs (trading as Compact Office Designs ) in partnership with Sakkie Meyer. Located in Somerset West.
1994

'Box-Office' Launched

Designed 'Box-Office' range targeting the home office market
1995

'Box-Office' licenced to Makro.

1996

Factory Relocation - Parow

Relocated to larger factory premises in Parow. Compact Office bought out by Sakkie Meyer. C.O Designs relocated to a new factory - focused on servicing the Corporate office furniture market.
1997

Peter Pillon joins as Shareholder and Marketing Director.

1998

First Export Project

Our first export project, furnishing the London office for Sanlam Investments
2001

Relocated to New Factory - Epping

Relocated to the current larger 2000m2 manufacturing facility in Epping 2, Industria
2006

Peter Pillon passes away

2013

Graham Radford Joins C.O Designs - New Shareholder & Partner

Graham Radford became shareholder and partner and setup Jhb office & showroom.
2013

Exclusivity Deal with Caimi Brevetti

Exclusive SA supply agreement with Italian acoustic specialists, Caimi Brevetti
2015

Factory Expanded to 3000m2

Extended our existing factory in Epping Industria to 3000m2.
2015

Debbie Radford Joins as Director

Debbie Radford joins C.O Designs as a Director alongside Raymond Ellerbeck & Graham Radford.
2016

Attended Orgatec Furniture Fair

Orgatec furniture fair – first exposure to the international privacy pod trend
2017

Graham Radford Relocates to Cape Town

Graham Radford relocated to Cape Town
2017

First QuickPod Room-in-Room Installed

Designed, manufactured & installed first QuickPod Room-in-Room system.
2018

Attended Orgatec Furniture Fair - Privacy Pods Expanding

Orgatec furniture fair – substantial evidence of privacy pods as a growing trend
2018

First Locally Designed & Produced Privacy Pod Launched - ChatterBox Classic 1.0

Designed & manufactured first local privacy pod in SA, namely ChatterBox Classic 1.0
2020

Launch of ChatterBox LITE 1.0

Launch of less expensive ChatterBox LITE 1.0 privacy pod range
2020

Upgraded ChatterBox Classic Launched

Introduction of upgraded ChatterBox Classic 1.2 privacy pod
2023

ChatterBox Range Upgraded

Introduction of updated ChatterBox Classic 2.0 privacy pod range. Introduction of updated ChatterBox LITE 2.0 privacy pod range.
2024

ChatterBox Classic Upgraded

Introduction of upgraded ChatterBox Classic 3.0 privacy pod range.
2025

SkyLite & CitiPod Launched

Launch of SkyLite privacy pod range (to replace ChatterBox LITE) Launch of CitiPod Phone Pod. Cost effective value engineered phone pod.
2025

New Ownership

Acquisition of 52% of Group shares by Bernadette Isaacs & Lerato Moledi via BEE Trust (Majority Black female-owned office furniture manufacturer)
2025

ChatterBox Classic Upgraded

Introduction of upgraded ChatterBox Classic 4.0 privacy pod range.
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Meet our Leadership Team

With a combined legacy of leadership and a renewed vision for transformation, Raymond Ellerbeck, Graham Radford, Bernadette Isaacs, and Lerato Moledi now lead C.O Designs together—championing innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth as they shape the future of workspace design.

Raymond Ellerbeck

Founder & Director

Graham Radford

Director

Bernadette Isaacs

Director - Transformation & Business Development

Lerato Moledi

Director - Gauteng Region

The C.O Designs Team

Meet the amazing team that is behind the continued success and growth of C.O Designs.

The C.O Designs Team

Our Clients

The key to our success has been the exceptional relationships we have built with our customers over the years.