Thanks so much @nathen007 ! We used the Chinese company for the prototyping simply because of budget and time constraints. I was anyway doing business with them importing sofas. Out team at or factory were simply too busy and this kind of prototyping can quickly become very demanding on company resources.

Mostly we use reclaimed teak or plantation teak for all our furniture.

About the ply - I just asked my furniture partner but it's after office hours here so I will update you tomorrow...:)