Look no hands! International IDA jury Flaps for choice - Hettich

2007
A magazine for customers of Hettich International
Look no hands!
Easys makes dreams of high-tech
comfort a reality
International
IDA jury
Assessing young design talent
Flaps for choice
Upwardly mobile kitchen fronts

Publication data
Publisher:
Hettich Marketing-
und Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG
P.O. Box 1 40
3 69 Kirchlengern
Germany
Editors:
Cornelia Hackenbruch M.A.
Wilfried Wadsack
Layout & production:
Hettich Management
Service GmbH
Tel.: +49 5 3 77-1736
Fax: +49 5 3 77-1737
E-mail: info@de.hettich.com
All rights reserved.

Networking
drives
development
We are moving ahead together. The drive to innovate is a powerful force. And innovation
can reshape not only products, but also complete process chains. By linking outstanding
products, engineered for efficient manufacturing, with lean order processing and reliable
service, we and our partners generate solutions that benefit all concerned.
Jointly developed solutions focus on customer benefits and they depend on all the
partners working effectively together. The stronger the partners, the more effective the
development process, and the better the outcome.
Successful networking depends on the willingness of the development partners to
participate unconditionally and frankly in a project. Some outstanding examples are the
lightweight.network, which links Hettich with EGGEr and rEHAu, and the International
Design Award organized for the first time jointly with rEHAu.
Technologies can be networked too. Add light to a furniture fitting and you have a
completely new product with exciting prospects. Development can sometimes move
forward on a broad front, as with the electrification of the kitchen.
The partnerships we have forged with customers have achieved impressive results. Some
of our national and international cooperations are described in this issue of .
Not all the outcomes are spectacular. But even those that seem humdrum will have
opened the way to more joint projects in the future. This alone is instrumental in building
the strength that profits all concerned.
Dr. Andreas Hettich
Managing Partner
Hettich Holding GmbH & Co. oHG
editorial
3

4
current news
Hettich on tour
Trade shows 007/ 008 6
Knowledge management
Technology Days for knowledge
transfer across the company 7
International IDA jury
Assessing young
design talent 9
A life outside the limelight
IDA prize-winners
and their careers 11
Coping with complexity
Instead of either/or,
why not both…and? 13
innovation
Best not left to chance
Innovation management 16
Freedom for choice
Big built-in fridges
for American kitchens 18
Cosario
Compact, accessible storage 18
InnoTech drawer system
Even more variety 19
Bathrooms to dream in
Styled for wellness 0
Look no hands!
Easys makes dreams of high-tech
comfort a reality
34
Flaps for choice
upwardly mobile kitchen fronts 4
Magische Marke
JOOP! Schlafzimmer generieren
umsatz und Image 5
lightweight.network
The future of furniture is light! 6
Lightweight Test Lab
Opening the door to lightweight
furniture 8
Voluntary high standards for
office furniture. New guideline:
quality criteria for office workplaces 9
Office: functional furniture
Scope for flexibility and productivity 30
ProDecor in Spain
Adding value through design 3
service
Time efficiency for DIY customers
Praktiker and Max Bahr
make shopping easier 34
Special space for storage
Fitting out the Santander
Consumer Bank AG
in Mönchengladbach 36
Dräger Medical uses
InnoTech drawers
robert Schörck: cabinetmakers with
skills, know-how and commitment 38
Carl Wilh. Meyer scores on
closeness to customers
Logistics as uSP 39
International IDA jury
Assessing young
design talent
9
13

4
0
contents
news
Fittings for over 1000 villas
Palm Jumeirah: the "eighth wonder of
the world“ is ready for occupation 4
Returns with no questions asked
The road to success for
Kangjie Kitchens in China 44
Emotional intelligence for kitchens
Johnny Grey‘s Australia tour 46
Cabcor, Canada: quality sells kitchens
Kitchen brands Denla and Cuisine
Idéale use fittings from Hettich 48
Hettich wins MVP Award 2006
from Bentwood Kitchens
Innovative products –
outstanding service 49
Hettich and Legallais
Partnership for success 50
Comfort below deck
Maritime Møbler, Norway, makes fine
furniture for ships 5
in brief
InLine sliding door fitting:
006 Product of the Year in Poland
Office Excellence Award 006:
53
Hettich places second
New for British bedrooms:
53
Sharps standardizes on Silent System 53
Hettich Polska: The right background 54
Hettich Strothmann:
New Design and Sales Centre
Hettich Australia:
54
Sydney showroom opening
Hettich uK moves into
55
London’s fashion heartland 55
5

2007
May:
K/BIS
Las Vegas/USA
May 8 to 10, 2007
INTERZUM
Cologne/Germany
May 9 to 12, 2007
EEM (EuroExpoMebel)
Moscow/Russia
May 15 to 19, 2007
July:
CBD
Guangzhou/China
July 6 to 9, 2007
September:
BIFE – TIMB
Bucharest/Romania
September 5 to 9, 2007
WOOD-TEC
Brno/Czech Republic
September 11 to 14, 2007
6
Trade shows 2007/2008
Hettich on tour
ZOW
Shanghai/China
September 12 to 15, 2007
Habitare
Helsinki/Finland
September 19 to 23, 2007
October:
AMBIENTA
Zagreb/Croatia
October 10 to 14, 2007
HOLZ
Basle/Switzerland
October 16 to 20, 2007
ZOW
Pordenone/Italy
October 17 to 20, 2007
WMS
Toronto/Canada
October 26 to 28, 2007
November:
INDEX
Dubai/UAE
November 1 to 5, 2007
MADERALIA
Valencia/Spain
November 7 to 10, 2007
INTERMOB
Istanbul/Turkey
November 10 to 14, 2007
2008
February:
ZOW
Bad Salzuflen/Germany
February 25 to 28, 2008
April:
HOLZ-HANDWERK
Nuremberg/Germany
April 2 to 5, 2008
DesignEx
Sydney/Australia
April 10 to 12, 2008

The first intracompany Technology Day was held in November 2000. Since then,
these twice yearly events have proved a successful platform for knowledge
transfer. They also give Hettich employees from different departments and
locations a chance to discuss subjects other than routine business. The 10th
Technology Day took place in November 2006 and in time felt this jubilee was a
good opportunity to interview organizers Ralf Diener, Technical Director at Paul
Hettich, and Cord Niermann, Hettich Management Service.
current news
Knowledge management
in time: How did the Technology Days
actually come into being?
Ralf Diener: This
technology forum was
the brainchild of Dr.
Wirths. In my first year
with Hettich, I began
planning the actual
concept. We had two goals. One was to
speed up the acceptance of new and
forward-looking technologies across the
whole of our international company. The
other was to promote communication and
an exchange of ideas among Hettich
employees working in similar fields, but in
different locations. This would help to speed
the pace of change.
in time: Were the Technology Days planned
from the start as a regular event?
Ralf Diener: Our goals – knowledge
transfer and more communication – were
long-term goals, so we always knew that
we wanted the event to take place
regularly. For this to be accepted, we had to
have a good format. We decided on 30minute
talks followed by time for discussion.
To this we added the idea of a market
place to allow the participating companies
more scope for in-depth presentation of
themselves and their products. The idea was
to facilitate the transition from theory to
practice. By now, this concept – which, of
course, has been polished over the years –
is fully accepted.
Technology Days for knowledge
transfer across the company
in time: How did people in the German
Hettich companies take to the idea of a
Technology Day? Did you have to work hard
initially to convince them that taking part
was worth their while?
Ralf Diener: We knew it was important to
get off to a good start. And we succeeded.
An opinion survey we did after the first
Technology Day showed that over 93% of
our colleagues felt that the event had lived
up to their expectations. We now carry out
this survey, which includes an assessment
of the speakers and the general organization,
after each event. It provides us with
helpful feedback which we take very
seriously. The fact that each Technology Day
is booked out is also a vote in our favour.
7

in time: How would you describe the
international reaction? Do you get many
participants from outside Germany?
Cord Niermann: There are always people
from our plants in Spain and the Czech
Republic, but the fact that the convention
language is German inevitably limits the
number of people from our foreign
subsidiaries.
8
in time: Have the
Technology Days
proved a successful
tool for promoting
interdepartmental
communication?
Cord Niermann: Yes, I‘m convinced they
have. They bring together people from all
over the company. People get to know each
other better. They swap ideas, and talk
about current projects, applications and
new developments. Good communication at
the Technology Days is a basis for good
communication in the future too – which
is helpful in resolving problems and
developing solutions.
in time: How do you set about choosing
the topics?
Ralf Diener: I start by drawing up a list of
topics based on my own experience. We
also regularly ask participants to suggest
topics that would interest them and these
get added to the list. We try very hard to
keep a balance across development,
production and logistics.
Cord Niermann: What is currently going on
in the company naturally has a pretty
strong influence on our choice of topics
too. For example, the previous Technology
Day, number 9, focused on process security;
that was during the roll-out phase of our
new innovation management policy and
certainly contributed to its success.
in time: Is it easy to get external speakers
to give talks?
Cord Niermann: Sometimes it‘s easy,
sometimes it‘s more difficult. Our suppliers
are in general very keen to present their
know-how. Getting speakers from consulting
companies and educational institutions
is somewhat tougher. There‘s a lot of work
involved in preparing a good 30-minute talk.
in time: What about the participating
companies, do they use the market places
to supports a transition from theory to
practice? Or do they simply see an
opportunity for some useful publicity?
Cord Niermann: The value of the market
places is immense. They give people a
chance to evaluate interesting products and
developments related to the main theme of
the event. Bear in mind that many people
prefer to discuss something one-to-one
rather than in front of a large audience.
At the different company booths, they can
speak directly with the experts and put
their questions with the product in front of
them; it‘s a far more effective way of
getting information. I believe it‘s true to say
that superficiality and publicity-seeking
don‘t stand a chance.
in time: How do you go about documenting
the Technology Days?
Ralf Diener: We make the content of all the
talks and any supplementary information
available to all Hettich employees via the
company intranet. All external participants
are sent a CD-ROM with the content.
in time: Would you consider making your
experience available to other companies
thinking of setting up a similar platform?
Participants at Hettich’s TechDays, an in-company
event, browse around the ‘market place’, keeping up to
date with trends and developments.
Ralf Diener: We‘re always open to ideas
like this. A lot of the concept that we‘ve
developed and improved over time could be
easily transferred to other events, either
complete or slightly modified.
in time: What are your goals for future
Technology Days? Are you perhaps
considering inviting more external guests?
Ralf Diener: In the past, we‘ve sometimes
invited customers. If we think the theme is
one that would interest some or all of our
customers – for example "Ergonomics and
machine workplaces“ – then we offer them
the option of attending. We also invariably
invite educational institutions. Hettich
maintains good contacts with the academic
world and the Technology Days are a great
place to reinforce and extend them. On
occasion we‘ve also numbered representatives
of professional associations, such as
the VDI or the IHK, among our guests.
Nonetheless, we shouldn‘t lose sight of the
fact that Technology Days are internal
events and that is what they will remain.

current news
[International Design Award]
2007
International
IDA jury
With 1,330 entries from 38 countries, this
year‘s competition topped the record set in
2005 (1,153 entries from 24 countries).
This year, the countries most strongly
represented were Germany, Japan and
China. There were also an impressive
number of entries from Poland, India,
Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, UK and
Canada. Apart from the acclaim, there is
prize money of a20,000, which is divided
among the educational institutions where
the winning students are enrolled.
The IDA competitions are open to
participants from around the world. In this
competition cycle, supervisors (professors,
lecturers) at universities and colleges
with faculties of furniture design and/or
construction were invited to submit
designs by their students in one of two
categories – furniture or fittings. The
general topic for the furniture category
was future lifestyles. In the fittings
category, the challenge was to integrate
functionality with aesthetics in designs for
Assessing young
design talent
The competence of the jury members is the measure against which the
authority of the entire International Design Award must be measured. In
making their assessments, the jurors bring their expertise and their
professional judgement to bear, but also their intuition and their awareness
of styles and trends. As they judge the entries from around the world, they
are also indirectly ranking the educational institutions represented by the
students. The International Design Award 2007, organized jointly by Hettich
and REHAU, again attracted a record number of entries.
drawers, roller fronts, edge bands or handles.
The number of entries was limited to a
maximum of five per supervisor and category.
The international jury had the task of
judging the entries against these and more
ephemeral criteria, such as creativity. The
task made heavy demands on the pooled
experience and judgement of the highcalibre
jury members. The 2007 IDA jury
was made up of design professionals from
around the world.
9

[International Design Award]
2007
Juliana Bertolini, Johnny Grey, Dr. Feng Hu
Wang, Maja Palczewska, Liat Preiss, Michael
Schmidt, Renata Sias, Andreas Varotsos
(l. to r.)
Juliana Bertolini is a product designer.
She studied at the Instituto Presbiteriano
Mackenzie and with the SENAI programme
in São Paolo. She herself sees her work as
positioned somewhere between design, art
and fashion. Strongly inspired by natural
shapes and with intense attention to
detail, her designs are expressive and
feminine. Participation in design shows in
Saint Étienne and São Paolo, and in the
Talent Show for new designers in Frankfurt
brought her international recognition.
Juliana Bertolini also lectures in industrial
design at Mackenzie University in Brazil.
Johnny Grey trained as an architect; he‘s
passionate about kitchens, furniture and
the world of ideas. And especially the
concept of unfitted sociable kitchens. He
designs custom kitchens with his design
teams in his design centres in San
Francisco and Hampshire, England. The
four books he has written have been
published in thirteen languages. He‘s also
a consultant for international companies
and he travels the world as a popular
speaker on kitchen design and architecture.
Maja Palczewska studied interior design
at the school of arts of the University of
Warsaw and now lives in Posen. She‘s
worked for more than eight years as a
designer of furniture and furniture
accessories and as an interior designer. A
number of the residential furniture ranges
marketed by major Polish manufacturers
carry her signature. Her most recent
project is an office furniture system.
Dr. Liat Preiss studied architecture in
Milan and also completed a degree course
in interior design. In 1979, she opened her
10
own offices in Milan, moving to Tel Aviv a
few years later. Today, more than a dozen
designers and architects work in her Tel
Aviv offices, from where she has implemented
over 200 projects for private and
institutional clients. Liat Preiss has made a
special name for herself with her work on
living facilities for senior citizens. She
holds a guest professorship at Bar-Ilan
University and is one of the most prominent
architects in Israel.
Michael Schmidt‘s design studio is called
code.2.design. His core competence lies in
creating products for customers who
believe in the power of design and his
designs have won several prestigious
awards. He is an innovation partner of the
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany.
Renata Sias studied architecture in Milan.
She has built a career specializing in office
architecture and interior design for office
worlds. She‘s a frequent contributor to the
specialist style journal Ufficiostile and is a
visiting professor of industrial design in
Milan. She has participated in conferences
and exhibitions on office design in Italy,
France, Greece, Japan and Switzerland.
She also works as a consultant for many
leading Italian companies.
Andreas Varotsos was born in Athens and
studied industrial design in Rome. He
cooperates with the Studio IDEA in Rome
and since 1984 has worked for companies
in Greece and Italy. He lectures in
industrial design at a number of universities
and universities of applied science,
exhibits at international design shows and
has won design prizes in Germany and the
USA. He won wide renown as the designer
of the torch and altars for the 2004
Athens Olympics.
Dr. Feng Hu Wang studied at Northeast
Forestry University in Harbin City/China
and went on to gain a Ph. D. from the
University of Wales (UK) in 1992. From
1997 to 1999, Dr. Wang was a guest
professor at the University of Maine (USA).
Today he is Dean of the Faculty of
Materials Science and Professor of
Engineering at Northeast Forestry
University. He holds leading positions in
several wood industry professional
associations and he acts as advisor to
government ministries and to specialist
journals and magazines. He has written
seven books and published over 100
articles. In China, Dr. Wang has a high
reputation in the furniture and wood
industries and has served on various juries
during major furniture trade shows in
Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen.
The International Design Award 2007
was the 6th competition cycle since the
inception of the competition. Under the
patronage of the Oberbürgermeister of
Cologne, Fritz Schramma, the competition
will culminate with the announcement of
the winners at a ceremony during the
Interzum 2007. The ceremony will take
place in Hall 8 at 16:00 hours on May 10
with the prizewinners and their supervisors
present to receive their certificates
and prizes. Next day, their visit to Cologne
will conclude with a reception in the
Cologne city hall. We hope they will all
take away happy memories of the
competition and their time in Cologne.

Doreen Trabhardt, Julia Lodes, Anna
Czerniakiwicz, Jürgen Hierl, Piotr Noga,
Torsten Klocke, Markus Thalhammer,
Volker Schumann (l. to r.)
A life outside
the limelight
Every two years, students from around the world compete for the International
Design Award. The winners, picked by a jury of leading design professionals, are
invited to Cologne for the awards ceremony. They radiate enthusiasm and opti-
mism. They often comment that winning the prize has been a milestone in their
careers. We wondered what they‘ve been doing since. So we picked eight past
prizewinners at random and asked them.
Two years ago, Doreen Trabhardt won third
prize in the International Design Award for
her Klabur shelf system. It was highly
praised by the jury for its "idea of two- and
three-dimensional storage space. With its
vertical and horizontal lines, it creates a
wall landscape storing books, entertainment
systems, ornaments or photos. The
design would be fast and simple to
manufacture.“ 2005 was also the year
when Doreen Trabhardt won the Bavarian
Meisterpreis for extraordinary achievement.
A trained cabinetmaker with several other
awards under her belt, Doreen went on to
qualify as a state-certified interior designer
at the Special Academy for Woodworking in
Cham. Today she is turning her versatile
talents and know-how to good account as
a design consultant for a leading furnishing
business in Erfurt. But she‘s still waiting for
a manufacturer keen to mass produce her
winning design.
Julia Lodes, who won a first prize in 2003
for her Ovo storage container, would be
overjoyed if she could finance the rest of
her studies from design royalties. But so far
no manufacturer has taken up the idea.
"Nonetheless, winning the prize was a real
morale booster,“ says Julia, "it motivated
me to keep going.“ Julia has now almost
completed her degree at the Hochschule für
Kunst und Design Burg Giebichenstein in
Halle.
current news
IDA prize-winners
and their careers
In 2003, when she won second prize in
the Grips and Handles category, Anna
Czerniakiwicz was a student at the
Politechnika Biakystok Kiydzia Architektury
in Poland. Today she works as a freelance
interior designer, evolving striking interiors,
designing furniture and accessories and
planning colour schemes. As consultant to a
company that plans public spaces, she also
designs places where people enjoy spending
time.
Johannes Feichtinger, Jürgen Hierl and Jutta
Leitner from the Institute for Interior Design
at Vienna‘s Technical University worked as a
team to produce their IDA entry. It was a
room divider called Raum Transformer and
it won a first prize in 2001. Looking back
today, Jürgen Hierl can understand why no
manufacturer has taken up their design.
"I‘m afraid anyone who‘d been willing to
try, would have paid dearly for taking the
risk,“ he says ruefully. He nonetheless values
the experience and says winning has helped
his career. Today he‘s part of a young,
committed and enthusiastic architectural
office in Vienna. His work varies from
project management and planning to public
relations and preparing competition entries.
He has already added a number of other
prizes to his reference list.
As a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Kraków, Poland, Piotr Noga collected several
prizes, including a second prize in the Grips
and Handles category, with a design called 11

flab. He also won first prize in an internal
competition held by the Academy to
redesign the Interior Design Faculty‘s
secretariat. His latest design is a chaise
longue called dla dwojga (for two). This
eye-catching seating unit lets one person
sit in two different positions, or it can be
shared by two people. "Once I‘ve qualified,
I‘ll find manufacturers for my designs,“ says
Piotr Noga confidently.
Torsten Klocke has his future clearly laid
out. He won a first prize in the 2005 IDA
with a project called o.m.f. (Object with
Function). The jury called it "an attractive
sculpture with a practical function“. Once
he has finished his degree at the Hochschule
für Kunst und Design Burg Giebichenstein
in Halle, Torsten Klocke will start working in
the Halle design office he set up with
Juliane Bardtholdt back in summer 2006.
He has the first jobs already lined up. His
website (www.desarteur.de) lists other
prizes he has won and his nomination for
the German Design Prize.
12
"Sticks“ by Meike Noster, Sascha
Schiller, Volker Schumann and
Harald Steber
"I spent several years working as project
leader on renovation projects,“ says Markus
Thalhammer, who won a third prize in 1999
with his Media Tower design. "Now I‘m
employed by Caritas Ludwigsburg-
Waiblingen-Enz as a trainer and lecturer in
Design and Colour, Specialist Calculations
and Basic Carpentry.“ Back in 1999, Markus
Thalhammer was working for his master
craftsman‘s diploma in carpentry at the
Meisterschule für das Schreinerhandwerk in
Ebern. The IDA prize gave him the confidence
to go on and take the more academic
course leading to a qualification as statecertified
interior designer. His Media Tower
may not have found a manufacturer yet,
but creative and ingenious designs are one
of his hobbies. And they‘ve won him a
couple of other prizes too.
In 1999, Volker Schumann was part of the
workgroup that won first prize for Sticks, a
modular bathroom storage system. The
other members of the team were Meike
Noster, Sascha Schiller and Harald Steber,
all from the Faculty of Industrial Design at
the University of Essen. "Yes, it still features
as a really good piece of work in my
portfolio,“ says Volker Schumann. In the
meantime, he has won an IF Design
Award and an award for packaging
design. A glance at his reference list
(www.werksdesign.de) shows that his
specialization in bathrooms has paid off.
Thes eight winners slipped back into nomal
life after their moment in the limelight.
Unfortunately, for lack of a manufacturer
prepared to produce and market it, none of
their designs has turned into bestsellers.
But this is normal. The designs were
futuristic projects in the best tradition of
blue skies thinking. They were ahead of
their time. Today it might well be worth
some manufacturer‘s while to take another
look at the designs. Contacts are easy to set up.
[International Design Award]
"Klabur“ by
Doreen Trabhardt,
"Ovo“ by Julia Lodes,
"flab“ by Piotr Noga,
"Raum Transformer“ by
Johannes Feichtinger, Jürgen
Hierl and Jutta Leitner,
"Media Tower“ by
Markus Thalhammer,
"o.m.f.“ by Torsten Klocke

Coping Instead of either/or,
why not both…and?
with
complexity
In the context of increasing globalization, fiercer international
competition and the accelerating pace of technical change, managers
and employees are facing completely new situations. Conventional
organizational structures and traditional ways of working together
are often inadequate to cope effectively with the complex demands
of worldwide markets. Nature offers models that can teach us to cope
with complexity.
current aktuell news
Most companies today have come a
long way from their origins as local
enterprises serving local people. Typically,
they now work with many different
customers and suppliers embedded in
different cultures. A company might buy
raw materials in Brazil, manufacture
in China, work with sales partners in
Australia and a logistics partner in the
Netherlands, and have their tax returns
handled by specialists in India. Coping
with such complexity strains conventional
hierarchical structures to breaking point.
The Malik Management Zentrum St. Gallen
(CH) takes the view that classical business
administration has very few answers on
how to deal with such complex structures.
The Swiss researchers believe that
bionics and cybernetics provide relevant
insights and models for building successful
and effective organizations in a global
environment.
13

Learning from nature
Bionics, or biomimetics, studies natural
systems and applies the knowledge to
create new technological solutions.
Evolutionary pressure and trial-and-error
processes over millions of years have
optimized natural systems and made them
highly efficient. Leonardo da Vinci was not
alone in recognizing that there‘s a lot to
be learnt from nature and that the knowledge
transfers can generate inventions.
One of the most familiar examples of
biomimetics is Velcro, used by millions
of people the world over. The idea was
developed by a Swiss scientist in 1948
– removing burrs from his dog‘s fur after
a walk, he got interested in how the burrs
stick, examined them under a microscope
and eventually came up with a fastener
that worked the same way. A more recent
14
transfer of this sort is the lotus effect
coating – its microstructures, imitating
those of lotus leaves, are dirt- and waterrepellent.
Other familiar inventions based
on natural models are the optimized
shapes of ship‘s hulls and planes and
even swimming costumes that imitate
characteristics of sharkskin.
But applications for bionics go far beyond
new product solutions. Cybernetics, for
example, also applies methods learnt from
nature to develop solutions for organizations.
It‘s still a relatively young branch
of research, but it‘s important in view of
the fact that even brilliant new technical
solutions deliver practical benefits only
once they have achieved market success.
Developing and launching successful
products and services in today‘s highly
diverse and dynamic markets confronts
management with tough challenges.
Cybernetics seeks to
answer the question
of how an enterprise
should best organize and
manage itself in order to turn
the knowledge and market information
it has into competitive advantage.
In analyzing and applying the potential
of biological systems, it‘s essential to
clearly understand the effects found in
nature. This means understanding that
naturally developed structures do not aim
for market control. Another fact to grasp
is that the existence of an organism is
assured not by the optimization of a single
element, but by the optimization of the
whole system and all its interactions.
Biological systems are adaptable, flexible
and efficient, they are capable of
learning and developing, of reacting fast
to changes and of repairing themselves.
Cybernetics deals with the laws that
govern the functioning of complex
systems. British cybernetics guru, Stafford
Beer, was the first to identify the
fundamental importance and the creative
potential of cybernetics for organization
management. He defined cybernetics as
"the science of effective organization“.
Beer identified the major problem of
management as the problem of controlling
and regulating complex systems in
dynamic and unpredictable markets.
Biological systems show how complexity
can be turned to advantage.

The Viable System Model
The Management Colloquium of
the Energie-Forum-Innovation in
Bad Oeynhausen was sponsored
by the Innovation Network OWL
Maschinenbau e. V.
The human central nervous system is the
most efficient control system in nature. It
is capable of coordinating highly complex
processes. It optimizes the way in which
the complex organs in the body work
together. It is capable of adjusting rapidly
to change. It can generate new states and
ideas and it is conscious of itself. Based on
the nervous system, Stafford Beer developed
the Viable System Model (VSM) as a
powerful tool for describing and
diagnosing an organization. The VSM
shows how self organization, self regulation
and self coordination can be organized,
how stable growth can be generated
and new elements integrated. The most
important aspect of this way of organizing
enterprises is recursivity. Similar to nested
Russian matroschka dolls, each viable
system comprises several other systems,
each viable in itself, and is in turn part of
a viable system. All these systems can be
managed autonomously on the principle
of cell division. To make this possible,
they must have certain functions. Each of
these functions and their interaction with
other functions in VSM is modelled on the
central nervous system.
Once this structural model is clearly
understood, it can be applied to any social
system. It avoids the trap of viewing an
organization only in a formal sense, ie, of
looking only at its organizational structure.
Simply looking at the orgachart says very
little about how the different organiza-
tional units interact. A VSM analysis of the
organizational structure includes all the
different functions ( jobs, groups of jobs,
departments, sections, units, committees
teams, projects, etc.) and how they interact.
In this way, it captures the underlying
structures of the organization.
An analysis of an existing organization
using the Viable System Model answers
the following questions:
· Are all essential management functions
required for viability being performed
successfully?
· Are the methods and tools used capable
of generating the requisite variety
(different responses) to react appropriately
to the variety of events likely to
happen and to guarantee the requisite
variety of the whole system?
· How are interaction and communication
functioning? Is the level of interaction
and communication adequate to ensure
the orientation of the organization?
· Is the dispersed knowledge and
information that exists within the
company being used to maximum
advantage? Are the meetings and
committees as effective as expected?
· Are those responsible clearly anchored
in the organization?
· Do the existing organizational structures
guarantee effective implementation of
the business strategy?
Bionics sees itself as a method for learning
from biological systems, although nature
serves neither simply as a pattern, nor as a
blueprint, nor a pure analogy. The researchers
at the Malik Management Zentrum
St. Gallen (CH) summarize it like this:
"The essence of management is not to do
business, but to stay in business. It‘s not
a question of survival, but of viability for
the long term. At issue is healthy growth
versus unhealthy growth, and strength
versus size.“
current news
Sources:
Talk by Dr. Frank Arnold, Malik
Management Zentrum St. Gallen, at the
Management Colloquium in the Energy-
Forum-Innovation in Bad Oeynhausen, an
initiative of the Innovation Network OWL
Maschinenbau e. V. www.bionik-zentrum.de
Dr. Martin Pfiffner: Manager lernen von der
Natur (How Managers Learn from Nature),
Südtirol Panorama, November 2006, pp.
10-12
Dr. Martin Pfiffner: Von biologischen
Systemen lernen (Learning from Biological
Systems), io new management
No. 12/2006, pp. 25-29
Bionics Patents from Nature,
published in collaboration with WWF,
Pro Futura Verlag, 1993
Dr. Frank Arnold from the Malik
Management Zentrum St Gallen
15

How are new ideas generated? The popular myth holds that it‘s
through a stroke of genius. But the inventor Thomas Alva Edison set
the record straight. ”Genius,” he said, ”is one percent inspiration and
99 percent transpiration.” At Hettich, we know that it‘s a long hard
road from a good idea to a successful product. In our business,
innovation is a complex process, less driven by technology than by the
ability to foresee and react to technical, economic and social change.
We are convinced that innovation is best not left to chance. So we set
up an innovation management system. Taking ideas forward, one step
at a time, results in viable products.
16
Innovation management has one
dominant aim: to meet the articulated
and unarticulated needs of the end user.
This inherently complex aim is made
more so, because we also have to take
account of the needs and interests of
the furniture and appliance industries,
furniture retailers, the fittings trade
and artisans such as cabinet makers. All
these groups need to capture economic
value and brand differentiation from new
inventions. In order to collect ideas and
to evaluate them in terms of all these
complex demands, Hettich has implemented
innovation management as a
core process right across the group. We
involve not only engineers and designers,
but also sales and marketing people. We
believe this is the best way to generate
new products and services that are
closely oriented to customer and market
requirements.
From start to finish, Hettich‘s innovation
management focusses on end users and
their current and future needs. The
method we apply is to develop scenarios
in order to identify national and
international trends with a time horizon
of ten years. The scenario outcomes flow
into product studies with a five-year time
horizon. We also use ideas management
techniques, applying a uniform companywide
system to harvest and evaluate
new ideas.
Tests with end users and customer
workshops are valuable tools in trying out
new ideas. Ideas that emerge successfully
from these initial evaluation processes
move on into the product generation process,
which usually lasts one to two years.

Best not left to chance
Today we have a systematic process in
place to develop marketable concepts
and products. The origins of this process
go back ten years to when an ad hoc
innovation team first looked at the
kitchen as a complete whole. What
emerged from their work was Concept
2010, which we presented at the
Interzum 1999 and which was included
in the Living Tomorrow 2 exhibition in
Brussels.
Today we‘re in a position to judge how
well those ideas have stood the test of
time. The integration of mood-setting
light in kitchen front panels is now reality,
thanks to LED technology. Concealing
Innovation management
kitchen appliances behind electrically
operated front panels is another trend
that is taking off. Hobs, ovens and wall
units that slide up and down on telescopic
rails are already at the volume production
stage in some markets. Monitors in the
kitchen are state of the art for comfort
and convenience. Waste disposal systems
and refrigerators that generate shopping
orders are either already on the market or
close to market readiness.
In short, all the electrified elements in
Concept 2010 seem to have foreshadowed
current trends and have been realized
well ahead of the ten-year time horizon.
As always, it is individual details that
innovation
are giving manufacturers of furniture,
kitchens and appliances the tools with
which to differentiate their products from
the competition.
In ten years, Hettich‘s innovation management
has developed from a single project,
Concept 2010, into a group-wide process.
This process helps us to channel the
group‘s innovation culture. By definition,
innovation management is a learning
system, and one of the most interesting
challenges in the company today is how
we can continuously improve it. Even as
it stands, Hettich‘s innovation management
is probably unique in our industry
sector; it‘s another component in the
structure of our outstanding competence.
Concept 2010 ideas that have become reality:
an oven rack that can be lowered to countertop
level, automatic splash protection, electrically
opened pan-drawer
17

Freedom
for choice
Freedom appliances have attracted a
lot of attention in the industry, especially
because they offer new technical
solutions to the challenges of big built-in
fridges. The hinges, for example, were
engineered with special kinematics to
meet the double requirement of the
widest possible opening angle combined
with the ability to support the extra
weight of the large doors and their contents.
Each hinge is capable of supporting
100 kg, despite the problem of far from
ideal height-to-width ratios. Hinges for
European fridges are generally only specified
for half that load.
The face-frame designs which are
virtually standard for American kitchen
units posed a special challenge for the
Practical, easy-access storage solutions
have long been standard for kitchen
base units – different-sized drawers with
versatile organizer systems for example.
Wall units, by contrast, still have a long
way to go before they reach this level of
sophistication. The new Cosario is a step
in the right direction. It adds extra
storage space in an ergonomically
attractive way.
18
Big built-in fridges
for American kitchens
Freedom fridges. The product development
engineers at Hettich had to create a
hinge not only capable of taking the full
load, but also able to pick enough rotary
momentum to complete the movement to
the desired end position.
Working in a development partnership
with BSH, Hettich specialists took up the
challenge. The outcome was a kinematic
that included a spring-supported closing
mechanism with integrated freewheeling.
As the door opens on hinges designed
to take the given load, the door swings
out more than twice as far as a standard
European fridge door.
The new hinge makes it all possible.
Large, built-in fridges. Doors that swing
Compact,
accessible storage
Cosario
Mounted below a wall unit, a Cosario
pocket is the ideal place to store herbs
and spices or kitchen gadgets – out of
sight, but handy when needed. Opening a
Cosario is easy. When the catch is released,
the lower level drops down, opening up
two storage areas. All the contents of a
Cosario are fully visible and within easy
reach the moment it’s opened – unlike
a lot of the storage space in a wall unit.
Movable dividers let users allocate the
space to suit their requirements.
wide for easy access. Hinges that can
take a huge load.
Someone who opens the fridge to fetch
out the milk isn’t going to be aware that
each hinge is a technical masterpiece.
But they will certainly notice the smooth
action, the reliable strength, and the
great convenience of a hinge that opens
the door just perfectly.
The integrated light strip is an attentiongrabbing
feature. With the Cosario shut,
the light illuminates the countertop;
when it’s open, the contents are illuminated.
Silent System damping means that
the pockets close softly and noiselessly.
Cosario combines unobtrusive good looks
with innovative technology, it’s a winning
way of making better use of wall storage
space. The system can be retrofitted as
required.

Exclusive kitchen design attracts
customers and supports product
differentiation. At the Interzum 2007,
Hettich will be showing new optical
differentiation options for its popular
InnoTech drawer system. In addition to
silver steel, stainless steel and beech,
Hettich is now offering anthracite
coloured side profiles for even more
choice behind the front panels. Two new
decor strips – chrome finish for silver
OrgaWing fans out as the drawer opens,
offering a surprising amount of useful
storage space.
steel drawer profiles and stainless steel
look for anthracite coloured profiles – are
eye-catching and offer yet another way
of drawing attention to an exclusive kitchen
design. The self-adhesive strips are
simply stuck onto the drawer side profiles
during manufacturing. Alternatively, they
can be ordered already assembled.
There are also new front-panel connectors
for interior drawers and pan-drawers,
available in a high-quality stainless steel
innovation
or aluminium finish. They continue the
quality theme behind the fronts, as do
TopSides made of steel, translucent
plastic or glass, and the complete range
of internal organizer systems. This range
of attractive and convenient features
makes it very easy to continue a design
theme throughout a kitchen, including
inside the base units.
In addition to multiple differentiation
options, InnoTech and Quadro runners
guarantees perfect drawer action over a
long service life. Silent System damping
is another option. For large drawers,
Hettich offers a damped heavy-duty
runner designed to operate smoothly with
loads of up to 70 kg. Intelligent internal
organizer elements score on comfort and
practicality.
InnoTech drawer system
Even more
variety
19

Bathrooms
to dream in
W hole bathroom product ranges are
being revamped in the direction of
design-oriented wellness bathrooms.
Products range from underwater lighting
in the bath to intelligently planned
storage systems that achieve an attractive
synthesis of function and design. People
set their sights on luxurious wellness
showers, generously-sized baths and
stylish wash basins. But they also
20
Styled for wellness
A recent survey carried out by the Institute for Demoscopics Allensbach (TOPLevel Study
2006) found that luxury bathrooms rank fairly high on the average German‘s list of
desirable features for a modern home. Almost one in three of those surveyed wanted an
up-market bathroom. Rather than simply functional places for a brisk shower, people want
bathrooms that combine a stylish ambience with the ultimate in comfort. This trend opens
up new and exciting prospects for suppliers of bathroom fittings
increasingly want storage units with
wide drawers and even heavy-duty deep
drawers. The Allensbach survey confirms
this: 66% of the women and 48% of the
men surveyed in the TOPLevel Study 2006
put cupboards and ample storage space
high on the list of attributes for their
dream bathroom.
Intelligent and practical internal organizer
systems for bathroom storage units are
to be found in the Hettich product range.
Versatile InnoTech drawer systems with
their many attractive features are a
must. The ProDecor Collection offers a
wide range of knobs, grips and handles
to accentuate any design style – from
timeless simplicity to dreamy prettiness.

Together they help to transform big or
small bathrooms into wellness oases.
The InnoTech drawer system offers
bathroom suppliers a number of dif-
ferentiation options. The double-walled
steel drawer boxes with two layers of
powder coating not only look good,
they‘re also easy care and resistant to
scratching. There‘s a choice of internal
organizer solutions, for individual storage
planning and optimal use of available
storage space. InnoTech drawers deliver
convincing benefits: plenty of storage
space that‘s easy to organize and keep
tidy, making sure that cosmetics and
care products are easy to find and always
within reach.
Different-sized drawers, deep as well as
wide, slide smoothly on durable Quadro
drawer slides. Integrated Silent System
damping devices emphasize the relaxed,
wellness mood. The ingenious and
unobtrusive damping devices ensure that
drawers and deep pull-outs close softly
and silently. It makes no difference
whether the drawers are empty or heavily
loaded, or whether they‘re closed with a
shove or gentle pressure.
Pulls and knobs from the ProDecor
Collection set individual accents in an
overall bathroom design. One option is
high-quality, high-gloss chrome finishes
that echo the function and design of
today‘s sophisticated taps and shower
heads. The look and feel of the grips and
pulls is right and their ergonomic design
means that furniture doors and drawers
open and shut with minimum effort.
For the new wide drawers, ProDecor
offers minimalist aluminium profiles in
a high-gloss chrome finish that are
innovation
supplied in custom lengths.
They emphasize the dominant horizontal
lines of contemporary front panels.
The Allensbach survey picked up the
trend towards ultra-comfortable,
highly functional and design-oriented
bathrooms. According to the survey, the
willingness of potential purchasers to pay
more depends heavily on their awareness
of quality differences between products
currently on the market. The survey
showed that awareness of quality
differences in bathroom design and
fittings climbed from 28% in 2005 to
34% in 2006. The percentage of consumers
who would be prepared to invest a
substantial amount in high-quality
bathroom fittings rose from 19 to 24% in
the same period.
21

Look no hands!
Some kitchen designers say a kitchen is a lifestyle product integrated into a living space. Trend analysts see
the kitchen as the "new 21st century salon", with a return to the kitchen-cum-eating-area which forms the
hub of social life with friends and family. If this trend is going to win wide acceptance, it will be
important to harmonize living comfort and kitchen technology as seamlessly as possible. Kitchen drawers
that open electrically are a step in this direction. They communicate comfort and emotional value.
22
Easys makes dreams of high-tech
comfort a reality

Easys opens even wide pan-drawers smoothly
and automatically
Drawers and pan-drawers fitted with
electric motor drives will open automatically
in response to gentle pressure
anywhere on the front panel. This opens
up fascinating prospects for no-handle
designs. At the same time, it brings
practical benefits for kitchen users. If
your hands are full, or smeared with cake
dough, you can simply nudge the front
panel with your knee or your hip and the
drawer will open smoothly and automatically.
Even if you normally prefer to
use the grip, there’ll always be situations
where it’s more convenient to have the
door open electrically. If it’s a wide and
heavily loaded drawer, you might simply
want to save your back.
Hettich’s new Easys is an electronically
activated, electric motor drive. It opens
the drawer smoothly at a constant
speed, irrespective of how wide or how
heavily loaded it is, mirroring a manual
opening movement. For safety reasons,
the opening movement stops the moment
the drawer encounters even the slightest
resistance.
Drawers are closed normally, by hand.
The mature technology of Hettich drawer
runners and Silent System damping
guarantee smooth, easy action and noiseless
closing. And what if there‘s a power
failure? Simply open the electric drawers
in the usual way.
Easys is extremely quiet. Because the
device needs only a very gentle push, ie,
a short stroke, to activate the motor, gap
dimensions can be kept to a minimum
and the functionality of a sealing lip is
not affected in any way.
Easys requires no changes to drawer or
runner design. It can be offered as an
attractive option, because the compact
motor unit fits into the small gap
between the back of the drawer and the
back panel of the cabinet.
At the Interzum, Hettich will be
showcasing automatic drawer opening
systems that are almost ready for volume
production. The company is also
presenting two concept studies that offer
a view of the next horizons. One study
focuses on a flap fitting that not only
opens, but also closes, automatically. This
makes it possible to close an open flap
effortlessly even if it’s in a really
awkward position.
innovation
If your hands are full, use your knee
to trigger automatic opening!
Extra convenience: electrical opening
for hinged doors
The second study shows electric opening
for hinged doors with the motor device
and fitting elegantly concealed. The
electronically activated motor unit is so
unobtrusive that it could be integrated in
an illuminated top panel or a slim profile
below the cabinet top panel. It takes
only featherlight pressure on the door to
trigger the opening action.
As long ago as the Interzum 1999,
Hettich sparked the idea of automatically
opening drawers as part of the much discussed
Concept 2010. Yesterday’s dream
has become today’s reality. It’s part of
the trend towards merging lifestyle and
technology that is driving contemporary
kitchen design.
23

Flaps for choice
Hettich’s new Vivario flap fitting system scores on looks and logistics.
A modular system with only a few basic variants, Vivario can be used
with a huge bandwidth of flap widths, heights and materials. Vivario
offers kitchen manufacturers and end-users maximum choice and
design freedom with wood, glass, plastic or painted flaps.
There’s a lot to be said in favour of
lift-up flaps rather than hinged doors
on kitchen wall units. Especially with the
new Vivario flap fitting, which guarantees
good ergonomics, effortless action and
soft closing. Other benefits for end-users
are a clear view into the unit and easy
access to the contents. There’s also the
safety bonus – kitchen users no longer
risk bumping their heads on open cupboard
doors. And there’s the design bonus
– with flap fitting systems, the horizontal
lines of the base unit design can be
repeated in the wall unit fronts. The
result is an optically coherent kitchen
design.
The Vivario range comprises three
variants: Vivario HF the high fold fitting,
Vivario HS the high swing fitting, and
24
Vivario HK the high flap fitting. This
limited number of variants covers a huge
bandwidth of front panel widths and
heights. Spring force can be adjusted
for different flap weights. It takes only
featherlight pressure to raise the flap
smoothly, and it can be arrested securely
at any angle above 45°.
Integrated Silent System damping slows
the closing movement so that the flap
closes noiselessly against the cabinet.
The peaceful and relaxed atmosphere is
especially important in view of the
contemporary trend to merging kitchen
and living areas. The damping action is
individually adjustable and easy to match
to different panel sizes and weights.
The attractive fittings with their aluminiumfinish
sleeves continue good design inside
Upwardly mobile
kitchen fronts
the wall unit, so that the harmonious
overall picture is not interrupted when
front panels are open.
It’s not only in kitchens where the
new Vivario product line meets all the
demands of contemporary design and
good ergonomics. It’s the ideal solution
wherever creativity and versatile function
have a role to play: in bathrooms, living
rooms, offices and project furniture.

The JOOP! brand carries huge cachet!
It stands for lifestyle choices that are
modern, unstintingly luxurious and
glamorous. The brand marketing for the
JOOP! range of bedroom furniture
communicates this message: “JOOP!
BEDROOM – your private retreat.
Reserved just for you – and a very special
guest. For a night, for a lifetime. The
room where day becomes night. Where
everyday reality and dreams become one.
Where fashion and the individual meet in
the mirror. Ample space for good taste,
stylish units and hours of pleasure.”
The JOOP! Collection is a coordinated
range of wardrobes, beds, bed linen,
lights, curtains and accessories in the
typical JOOP! look. It’s sold in selected
stores under license from JOOP! and the
company keeps a careful eye on how its
exclusive products are presented.
Nolte-Möbel produces bedroom furniture
for the JOOP! brand. To date the company
has produced four ranges – Inlay, Inside,
Groove and Lines – all manufactured to
the company’s exacting quality standards.
The urbane designs interpret current
trends in the special JOOP! style. They use
innovative fittings solutions to implement
the sophisticated functionality that goes
with the special look. This mean slidingdoor
wardrobes from 230 to 400 cm wide
and up to 223 or 240 cm high. The
generously dimensioned and beautifully
finished chests of drawers are up to 186 cm
wide and up to 76 cm high.
The bigger, the better – wider and taller
doors and drawers create a look of
elegance and luxury. TopLine 22 sliding
door fittings ensure that even large and
heavy doors move smoothly and reliably.
Silent System damping makes sure they
close softly and reliably. The high quality
innovation
A name
to conjure with
JOOP! bedrooms generate sales and build image
Nolte-Möbel in Germersheim, near Karlsruhe, is one of Germany’s leading
manufacturers of storage units and bedroom furniture. With interesting
new projects, the company is convincing customers of the importance of
criteria other than price. Instead of investing huge amounts in promoting
its own brand, Nolte chose an external label with high brand recognition.
In 2005, the company launched the JOOP! Bedroom Collection. Around
200 store placements, with two showroom bays per store, have boosted
sales and enhanced the image of both the manufacturer and the furni-
ture studios.
furniture includes drawers on Quadro full
extension slides and Silent System
damping.
The JOOP! bedroom catalogue doesn’t
specifically mention the functionality of
the high-calibre fittings. But this is
unnecessary – it goes without saying that
a high-quality, luxury brand is built to the
highest standards, inside and out.
25

The future of
furniture is light!
26

The aim is to develop viable system
solutions that will make it easy to
work with frameless lightweight board
using techniques already routine in the
furniture industry. The members of the
lightweight.network are working to
develop the best possible solutions for
edging, attaching hardware and
processing frameless lightweight boards.
By pooling their know-how, the partners
aim to deliver practical integrated
solutions. Targeted projects like this
speed the pace of innovation while
reducing the overall development load
in the furniture industry. The lightweight.
network is a unique project and it looks
likely to offer unique benefits for design,
manufacturing and logistics.
EggEr produces the Eurolight range of
lightweight panels. rEhau and hettich
supply key components needed to turn
panels into a piece of furniture. rEhau‘s
basic edge system is a specially developed
solution for applying edge bands to
frameless lightweight panels. hettich
developed a two-part resin dowel which
creates a reliable anchor-point for
attaching fittings of any sort to the
panels. One great attraction of these
new developments is that they require
no significant changes to the production
routines of furniture makers and outfitters.
achieving smooth, efficient processing for
the new lightweight materials is going to
take a concerted effort. That‘s why the
lightweight.network is open to new ideas
and welcomes new partners, for example,
from the machinery or adhesives sectors,
or from research institutions. The more
knowledge there is available in the pool,
the simpler it will be for manufacturers
to find out what they need to know in
order to build successful lightweight
furniture.
Lightweight materials offer huge
advantages – for offices, kitchens and
residential furniture, but also in shop
fitting and trade show furniture. The
lightweight.network is working to
communicate these advantages and to
ensure a great future for these attractive
new materials.
innovation
Look at some of the wider trends affecting furniture design. Like
the fact that people move around more than ever before. But
they also have more stuff to store. Do they want to haul weighty
furniture around wth them? And what about transport costs for
manufacturers? Or conserving energy and resources? The odds are
stacked in favour of lightweight materials in furniture and interior
decorating. Three company groups, EggEr, Hettich and rEHAu
have jointly set up the lightweight.network to support this trend.
27

Lightweight Test Lab
gluing is fast and versatile way of obtaining a high-strength,
lightweight bond. Which is why it’s widely used in manufac-
turing; even for products like cars, caravans and aircraft.
One innovative example from the furniture industry is glue
injection technology to anchor dowels in the new lightweight
boards. Hettich’s Lightweight Test Lab in Kirchlengern
will work with customers to advance volume production
applications for this technology.
The opening of the hettich group’s
new Lightweight Test Lab will coincide
with the Interzum 2007. a key item in the
lab’s technical equipment is a BIMa 310
V Concept machine, capable of gluing,
routing and drilling the honeycomb
core boards. This machine, based on the
modular IMa series of wood processing
machinery, integrates a specially
developed bonding dowel module.
The new module automates the whole
dowelling process – from dowel insertion
to monitoring glue application.
The Lightweight Test Lab will enable
hettich specialists to work with industry
customers on fine tuning and testing
manufacturing processes for furniture
using bonding dowels and lightweight
board. along the way, they will build up
a reliable knowledge base for the use of
a this new technology, for instance, load
28
ratings for different types of material
under different conditions. Designs for
lightweight furniture can be implemented
under realistic production conditions
and tested using accepted methods. The
BIMa 310 V Concept is engineered for
both volume and one-off production. This
makes it feasible to create prototypes for
complete furniture lines in the Lightweight
Test Lab.
applications for frameless lightweight
board are many and varied. and the
technology offers big benefits. For
example, replacing heavy sliding door
panels with honeycomb-core equivalents,
would deliver easier sliding action and
the prospect of substantial cost savings.
shelves, cabinets, wardrobes and tables
are all candidates for lightweight designs.
The technology is already so mature
that it passes standard tests with flying
Opening the door to lightweight
furniture
colours. Tear-out values for hettich’s
bonding dowels, for example, compare
very favourably with other fittings. The
new Lightweight Test Lab will help to
pioneer wider use of this exciting new
technology.

The work-related health
problems among office staff
have been the subject of
continuing discussion. using
the "Quality Office“ logo as a
guide, employers can now take
effective measures to protect
their employees‘ health. The
concept for the logo puts
people first. After all, they do
the work! The Quality Office
logo identifies products and
services that meet extremely
high standards.
The logo is awarded exclusively to
certified products and services that
meet the stipulated standards (www.
quality-office.org). Backing the Quality
Office logo are a number of widely
recognized leaders in the field of quality
standards in germany: the BsO Verband
für Büro-, sitz- and Objektmöbel e. V. in
Düsseldorf, the DIN Deutsche Institut für
Normung e. V., Berlin, the Verwaltungs-
Berufsgenossenschaft – VBg, hamburg,
the Bundesanstalt für arbeitsschutz and
arbeitsmedizin (Baua), Dortmund, and
the Initiativkreis Neue Qualität der
Büroarbeit (INQa Office), st. augustin.
In their introduction to the guideline, the
occupational health specialists Prof. Dr.
Joachim grifka and Prof. Theodor Peters
make the point that this quality
standard is creating "an office environment,
in which people can work in health
New guideline:
quality criteria for office workplaces
and safety, where they are motivated to
do well, and where they are able to work
as effectively as possible.“ The aim is:
"Not simply to avoid injury and illness,
but to activate people‘s full potential.“
The quality standards for office furniture
ergonomics defined in the guideline are
based on the latest research results. The
guideline points up the clear benefits of
investing in higher quality products and
competent services and recommends
their use whenever feasible. It defines
standards against which the following
products and services can be evaluated:
- Office chairs
- Visitors and conference-room chairs
- Event chairs
- Office tables
- Office containers
- Office cupboards
- room dividers
- sales services
- Office-related consulting
- Office-related services
The Quality Office logo on all these
products stands for more than high
standards in material, manufacturing and
design. a basic requirement for award of
the logo is a prior gs tested safety
innovation
Voluntary high
standards for
office furniture
certification. In addition, products must
comply with exacting ergonomics criteria.
The Quality Office logo is also available for
a broad range of office-related services.
hard facts and measurable criteria are
one thing, but don‘t underestimate
the emotional aspects of the Quality
Office logo. Businesses, organizations
and government offices that implement
Quality Office criteria reap the benefits of
higher employee motivation and an office
environment that is automatically more
efficient.
The evaluation criteria for office containers
and storage units in the categories
functional and ergonomic design and
safety are high. The components industry
can supply furniture hardware that more
than meets these criteria. For example,
the systema Top 2000 range of hardware
for office storage units complies fully
with the guideline and delivers striking
benefits for office workers.
The new guideline for quality
standards in office workplaces
29

The Orgatec office fair in Cologne in 2006
was the place to find out how office
furniture can support efficient work flows
and help to structure office space to
increase productivity. More and more
companies are turning towards large
open-plan offices with a layout that
mirrors the way work flows through the
company. This type of office also
encourages communication without
regard for hierarchical structures. In some
cases, individual desks are being replaced
by generous “workbenches” providing
workspace for several people.
Benches and caddies
Benches are one of the latest trends in
office planning and design. There are no
reserved places at a bench; anyone can
pull up a chair, switch on their laptop and
30
Desk sharing, office nomads, the business club – 21st century
office work is in a state of flux. The focus is shifting more to
projects and team work. Today’s offices are expected to promote
communication, productivity and added value. The fast pace of
change demands that they be adaptable.
start working. It’s one answer to the
demand for more flexibility in the office
world. Benches encourage a fruitful
exchange of ideas, promoting creative
processes and breaking down barriers
between people. They facilitate a
desirable mix of communication,
interaction and concentration. They’re
places to discuss projects, do research,
write reports and communicate by phone
or email. Partitions can be used to block
sight and sound when more privacy is
required.
One piece of furniture that comes into
its own in these increasingly open and
flexible work environments is the caddy.
These small storage units on wheels
provide dedicated space for office
paraphernalia, from hanging files to CDs.
People may not have a permanent desk,
but they still need personal storage for
their equipment and personal effects. a
caddy provides just that. Then there are
themed caddies which are fitted out, for
example, with everything needed for a
meeting or as a minibar or coffee trolley.
Making the most of modern media
Technology, especially information
technology, is an essential feature of
modern offices. But this doesn’t mean
you want to trip over a tangle of cables –
especially not in prestige areas like
conference rooms. Modern conference
furniture systems integrate power
supplies, media connections and data
communication lines. and they do it in
such a way that media access is easy for
all possible room layouts and work

Office: functional furniture
situations. using sockets concealed
beneath unobtrusive flaps, conference
participants have the full range of
communication and information
technology at their fingertips.
Modular rather than rigid
Many manufacturers offer a modular
product range, with elements – sideboards,
shelves, flipchart stands, table
legs and tabletops – that can be mixed
and matched building-block style. The
drive now is to simplify assembly and
reduce handling costs.
Wellbeing and motivation
Office environments that appeal to the
senses are also part of the new office
culture. solutions like those shown in
Scope for
flexibility and
productivity
Cologne focus the office environment
more than ever on an organization’s most
valuable resource – people – and how to
help them work more productively. In
addition to impressive functionality, the
most obvious trend was to attractive, but
low-key, design. Contemporary office
furniture tends to feature areas of pale
colour set off by dark wood, creating
powerful contrasts. Clean lines are
accentuated by front panels without
handles, sometimes with Push-to-Open
systems for a super-streamlined look.
The increasing popularity of damped
cabinet doors and drawers, which
eliminate hectic banging and create a
relaxed atmosphere, is another sign that
business is waking up to the key role of a
pleasant working environment for
maintaining high employee morale.
innovation
The excellent outcome of the Orgatec in
Cologne is certainly also a result of the
openness with which the whole sector
has accepted the new office concepts.
The trade show was a turning point and
since then a new, positive mood has been
evident. It looks as though the industry is
back on track for growth.
31

ProDecor in Spain
Adding value
through design
Differentiation is one of the
most challenging aspects
of product design. This is
especially true for kitchens,
where so many elements have
to be standardized, eg, the
depth, height and width of
storage units and appliances.
Nonetheless, every kitchen
manufacturer strives to
differentiate their products
from the competition. Design
also has an important role to
play in evoking a spontaneous
positive response from
potential kitchen buyers.
Successful Spanish kitchen
furniture manufacturers
Muebles Ebano and Móstoles
Industrial take both these
factors into account.
32

Hettich Strothmann, are the grips and
handles specialists in the Hettich group
of companies. Hettich Strothmann has
built a strong reputation for manufacturing
competence, surface treatment
know-how and above all for innovative
designs for handles, grips and knobs.
The ProDecor brand stands for designoriented
grip solutions capable of setting
a furniture system off clearly from the
competition. Knobs, handles and grips are
integral elements in furniture design; like
fashion accessories, they accentuate or
harmonize with the main design theme.
And they help to create that important
first impression.
Kitchen manufacturers Muebles Ebano
and Móstoles Industrial (Moinsa) are
among the market leaders in Spain. They
know that customers expect them to live
up to their high reputation. A spokesperson
for Ebano commented, "There’s more
and more emphasis on design and we
have to work with this trend.“ And a
Moinsa spokesperson says, "The roll of
product design is of fundamental
importance because first impressions are
almost always exclusively visual. Later, of
course, potential customers consider
functionality and ergonomics, and finally
quality and price.“
Moinsa can speak from wide experience.
The company’s first kitchen designs
marked the dawn of a new era where the
kitchen was seen as a whole.
“Ever since, we‘ve been constantly updating
our designs and delivering practical and
innovative solutions that transform
kitchens into new living spaces,” says the
Moinsa spokesperson. Ebano’s experience
is similar: “You only have to turn the
clock back a few years to see how far and
fast the kitchen world has advanced. The
styles, the materials and the appliances
have all changed. And the passion for
tidiness that determines the internal
logistics of a kitchen, has become
secondary to high quality, avant-garde
design.”
The expectations of kitchen end-users,
their ideas and their desire for an
individual ambience are driving development.
“We have to keep improving our
products if we want to maintain brand
loyalty and keep our customers buying
our products – and talking about them to
friends and relations.” say Moinsa, while
Ebano admit, “We have to excel ourselves
every day if we are to fulfil the wishes of
our customers.”
Moinsa sees the cornerstones of their
success in “professional design and
development, materials of outstanding
quality, reliable manufacturing methods
and a corporate philosophy that puts a
high priority on service, and on the
aesthetics and functionality of kitchen
furniture. All these factors, and our
extensive experience, enable us to
maintain our prestige brand image.”
Ebano’s view is similar. They sum up their
philosophy in one sentence: “We must
live up to the expectations of our
customers, because it is they alone who
determine our success.”
Culmination of a well-planned concept
How do these two manufacturers achieve
their differentiation goals? How do they
seek to direct customer attention to make
that all-important first impression? What
do they think of grips and handles as
tools for differentiation?
innovation
Moinsa: “When we attach a grip to a
piece of furniture, we’re at the end
point of a whole design process. In
addition to its function, the grip adds a
personal touch to the whole thing. You
could draw a comparison with a fashion
accessory that adds the final, personal
touch to an outfit.”
Ebano: “The grip contributes to design
and quality. Its shape, material and
surface finish add value and emphasize
the value of the kitchen as a whole.”
These are the reasons why both
companies choose handles from the
ProDecor Collection. They know that
today’s globalized markets make it
difficult to achieve exclusivity. Because
it is extremely difficult to identify the
real differences between collections
from the various handle suppliers,
Moinsa selects its suppliers on the basis
of quality, service and price. Moinsa:
“The price is really the least important
factor, because handles represent an
insignificant cost, compared with the
cost of the whole kitchen.”
This is in spite of recent developments.
“Today’s handles cost ten times as much
as in the past,” Ebano comments, “the
higher price is justified, in our view,
because handles give a kitchen design
its immediately recognizable added value.”
These Spanish kitchens exemplify an
important trend. Grips and handles that
attract attention, or generate a positive
emotional response, are essential tools
for differentiating a premium kitchen
from a run-of-the-mill product. A
kitchen that has achieved this status
will never be judged on price alone.
33

34
Praktiker, a German home improvement chain, launched "Easy-to-Shop“
as a pilot project in 6 branches in mid-2006. The basic thrust of
Easy-to-Shop is to save time and effort for customers. Praktiker reduced
number of different items it stocked and simultaneously made it easier
for customers to find the items they want. The pilot proved successful
and the new concept is being phased in across all the company‘s stores.
The Hamburg home improvement chain, Max Bahr, has also switched to a
colour-coded customer orientation system. Hettich FurnTech‘s DIY Division
developed a colour-coded customer orientation system as part of its brand
strategy.
Well-presented POS displays influence
customer purchase decisions.
Joanna Sieronski, Purchasing Assistant
Praktiker, Marc Effertz, Hardware
Purchasing Praktiker and Peter Schellenberger,
Key Account Manager Hettich
FurnTech (l. to r.)
Praktiker believes that the Easy-to-Shop
concept has proved its worth. During
the six-month test phase, the six pilot
stores reported increased sales and profits
and higher customer traffic counts. The
figures were so impressive that Praktiker
began the changeover for the next 12
stores in March 2007, six months earlier
than planned. By the end of 2007, 67 stores
will have made the change, and by the end
of the decade, 200 stores will have
introduced the new system.
Marc Effertz, responsible for hardware
purchasing, talked to about
Praktiker‘s restructuring strategy. "Easy-to-
Shop is the key to increasing sales per
square metre and to concentrating on high
turnover items. At the same time, it
improves the way we present our stock;
providing the best possible orientation aids,
we are helping our customers make their
purchases without wasting time and effort.“
The new store layout features a wide
central aisle allowing a view over the
whole store.
The number of different items stocked has
been sharply reduced. "Take lawn mowers
for example,“ says Marc Effertz, "We used
to stock 36 diferent models. Now we stock
14 and sales and return on sales are up.“
These cuts – of up to 20% in the pilot
stores – were carried out in consultation

Time
efficiency
with major industry partners, including
Hettich FurnTech. The new product range
was defined in frank discussions between
Praktiker‘s category management and each
supplier. Once this had been done, it was
over to the suppliers to develop and
implement the required colour coding.
The POS colour code system uses ten
colours to help customers identify the
product they are looking for quickly and
easily. Deep blue, for example, is the colour
for hinges, while dark red signals sliding
door fittings. Sub-divisions within categories
have their own colour codes. Customers
consult information panels, look for the
shelf colours and finally zero in on the
colour-coded bag packaging. The store
shelving with the colour system now
presents an harmonious picture with clearly
demarcated subdivisions. Customers
generally find what they want without
having to ask for assistance.
Both Praktiker‘s pilot stores and the Max
Bahr chain in Hamburg found that the
colour-based orientation system paid
dividends. Axel Burkmann, hardware
purchasing, and Martin Schweikert,
responsible for area management at Max
Bahr, both agree, "We want customers to
have a positive shopping experience in our
stores. It‘s most important that they find
Praktiker and Max Bahr
make shopping easier
for DIY customers
what they want without problems. As we
all know, a good shopping experience
influences purchase decisions,“ says Axel
Burkmann. "A clearly structured, easily
understandable stocking system is essential,
especially for areas where we stock several
hundred smaller items. We need a good
orientation system plus useful product
information.“ And Martin Schweikert adds,
"By dividing our stock into clear categories
and having understandable subdivisions
within each application theme, we‘re not
only helping our customers; we also make
life easier for our staff, for example, when it
comes to restocking.“
As effective as the concept is, making the
changeover without interrupting operations
was a challenge. Axel Burkmann and
Martin Schweikert remember, "Perfect
coordination across all the specialist
departments at Max Bahr helped tremendously
to ensure that implementing the new
colour code system was unproblematic,
despite the size and complexity of the
undertaking. We have to admit that
changing over to the new Hettich polybag
packaging was a logistical challenge for all
concerned.“ And they are unstinting in their
praise of Hettich FurnTech‘s DIY division,
"The integration of the colour-coded
orientation system has been a great
success. The system harmonizes well with
service
Axel Burkmann, Central Hardware Purchasing
Max Bahr, Martin Schweikert, Area Manager Max
Bahr, Uwe Schnippering, Deputy Store Manager
Hamburg-Bramfeld Max Bahr and Ludwig Aumiller,
Key Account Manager Max Bahr (below l. to r.)
our whole Max Bahr market image.
Feedback from our employees, who work
with the Hettich product range every day,
has been enthusiastic. And our logistics
teams find it more efficient.“
The utimate criterion is how the change
affects sales. Although the test phase in the
pilot stores is not a reliable basis for
predicting a trend, it is true that the Easyto-Shop
system has delivered double-digit
growth to date. Marc Effertz puts some
detail on it: "Growth rates in the small
ironmongery area were outstanding; sales
of technical fittings were up by between 7
and 8%.“ His conclusion is, " We‘re very
satisfied with what we‘ve achieved together
with Hettich in terms of layout and
content. It has brought our Easy-to-Shop
system to life especially in the small
ironmongery section.“
The Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte
Holding AG is a full-service
supplier in the Do-it-Yourself sector.
In 2006, the group generated sales of
C3.16 billion. It operates around
420 home improvement stores in eight
countries – now including the Max
Bahr chain. In Germany, the group has
just under 350 stores. The Max Bahr
chain, which is operated as a premium
brand, became part of the Praktiker
group with effect from February 1, 2007.
35

36
Special space
for storage
Fitting out the Santander Consumer Bank AG in
Mönchengladbach
In summer 2006, the company won the
contract to build walk-in archive units
with a total of 252 storage cabinets
(accessible and usable from outside and
inside the units) for the new headquarters
of Santander Consumer Bank AG in
Mönchengladbach. Designed for around
1,200 employees, the new bank building
is an attractive addition to the local built
environment. The design concept set out
to meet the bank’s specification for a
team-oriented, flexible and communicative
work environment. The archive units are
part of the bank’s policy of giving employees
wide independence in organizing
their work processes. The units provide
easily accessible temporary storage for
files and folders close to workplaces.
The Reckert brothers worked intensively
on exploring options for visual and
structural details for the Santander
Consumer Bank project. Hettich FurnTech
in Vlotho proved a supportive cooperation
and development partner. For example,
the Reckerts had a problem with the
classical sliding door fitting originally
specified. Recessed front panels would
have spoiled the effect of the red, beige
and white colour patterns envisaged for
the fronts. On the other hand, some type
of sliding door fitting was the only way
to create the required storage in the
available space. At some stage, it was
suggested that Hettich’s InLine fitting
might be the answer. Sliding doors
running on InLine fittings close flush and
create an absolutely smooth run of front
panels. “With this fitting, we optimized
the use of space and provided practical
storage facilities. There were clear design
benefits and there was the brilliant visual
effect with the striking use of colour,”
explains Günter Reckert.
Originally developed for residential
furniture, InLine fittings are used mainly
for bedroom storage systems. The initial
drawings for the bank project made it
clear that the fitting would need
modifying to make it compatible with
Hettich’s Systema Top office furniture
fittings system. “Hettich truly bent over
backwards to help us,” says Günter
The spacious lobby of
Santander Consumer Bank AG
Reckert, “not least because Christian
Herzberg, our contact at Hettich, was
determined to take the project to a
successful conclsion. Together we found a
solution that pleased the architect and
the clients.” The innovative solution that
fully satisfied the project’s design and
functional specs made the higher cost for
the InLine fitting an acceptable price to pay.
Günter Reckert is convinced that there
are big opportunities for innovative
artisan companies provided they take the
right approach. “The idea is not to imitate
products already available from mass
production,” he says, “we have to play the
custom-design card. We must build a
clear picture of what the customer wants
and then do our utmost to deliver exactly
that, even if it initially looks impossible.”
The steady demand for the Reckert’s
work, not only from Santander Consumer
Bank, but from many other major business
and private clients, is proving him right.

Creativity and innovation go hand in hand. A bold and creative
decision to use innovative hardware systems for custom storage
units can deliver a competitive advantage. Günter Reckert is a
creative and practical entrepreneur; he’s open to new ideas and
has the know-how to integrate them into successful products.
Together with his brothers, Berthold and Heiner, he has transformed
Reckert GmbH & Co. KG in Borken, founded in 1959, into a highly
successful interior fitting business with an impressive reputation.
The walk-in archive boxes harmonize
attractively with the other furnishings.
Sophisticated, contemporary design: the doors of
the walk-in archive box close flush thanks to the
InLine sliding door fitting.
The walk-in archive boxes are fitted with
Systema Top 2000 office internals for optimal
space utilization.
Photos: Marcus Schwier
service
Preparing to machine a semi-circular component
in the joinery
The joinery was founded in 1959 by
Hermann Reckert, the father of the
present owners. Today Günter and
Bertold Reckert are joint managing
partners, while Heiner Reckert is head of
the workshop. The company employs
15 people including three apprentices,
and has a production area of around
1,250 m 2 . The company makes “any type
of joinery that can’t be bought ready
made” for high-end interiors. Their long
reference list includes offices for the
Düsseldorf Chamber of Architects, the
AOK Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf airport, the
Marl Theater, Siemens VDO Automativ AG
in Lindau and the Siemens Techno Park in
Mülheim, as well as doctors’ consulting
rooms and offices for lawyers and
advertising agencies.
37

Dräger Medical
uses InnoTech
drawers
Dräger Medical, part of the international
Dräger Group, is a global supplier of
complete solutions for acute point-ofcare
areas in clinics and hospitals – from
the emergency unit to perioperative,
intensive, perinatal and home care.
Around two years ago, Dräger Medical
was developing new care-area units for
ergonomic positioning and use of medical
equipment. The company decided to use
the InnoTech drawer system for these
units – with Quadro full extension
runners and integrated Silent System.
Dräger Medical commissioned Lübeck
cabinetmaker Robert Schörck with
processing the front panels and assembling
the drawers. Robert Schörck had
previously fitted out workplaces and
conference areas for Dräger Group
companies. Schörck also produces special
packaging systems for shipping medical
equipment anywhere in the world; in
each case in compliance with national
regulations governing this type of
packaging.
38
Robert Schörck: cabinetmakers with
skills, know-how and commitment
Kai Schörck and his brother Sven took
over the company in 2006 from their
father. Kai Schörck is technical director,
Sven Schörck runs the commercial side.
The company employs 18 people, five in
the back office and 13 in production. One
core competence is fitting out offices –
customizing and adding to standard
furniture systems as required. In addition,
the company specializes in interior
design, shopfitting and fitting out
doctors‘ consulting rooms.
The Dräger care units needed customized
solutions. The front panel of an InnoTech
drawer is laminated chipboard. For
practical reasons, Dräger specified fronts
without handles. Instead Kai Schörck
designed the front panels with special
grip recesses, produced efficiently on a
CNC router. The drawer bottom and back
wall is formed from a continuous sheet of
powder-coated aluminium with predrilled
holes. This element is joined to the
InnoTech side profiles using an automatic
Assembling InnoTech drawers –
finished drawers are stacked into
multi-trip transport packaging.
Dräger care area unit with
InnoTech drawers for ergonomic
positioning of medical devices

iveter. Finally the front panel is clipped
on and aligned. The finished drawers are
stacked 45 or 30 at a time, depending on
drawer size, in multi-trip transport
containers, also produced by Schörck,
and delivered to Dräger Medical.
The Quadro runners for the InnoTech
drawers are processed by Deckert
Oberflächen GmbH in Lüneburg. The
company powder coats the aluminium
profiles on which the runners are
installed in the care units. Deckert
delivers the coated aluminium profiles,
with the Quadro runners attached, to
Dräger Medical, which then assembles
the two components as required for each
customer project.
Schörck produces ’normal‘ drawers 430
and 630 mm wide and documentation
drawers also 430 and 630 mm wide.
Documentation drawers incorporate
another Hettich fitting, a face frame
hinge that allows the front panels to be
opened outwards, providing a flap for
writing and organizing documents close
to a medical device. All the InnoTech
drawers have custom-length railings.
The white powder coating of the drawer
profiles is also a custom feature.
Kai Schörck says the company produces
around 4,000 of these drawers and
documentation drawers each year. They
produce only to order: "When Dräger
Medical orders a certain number of
drawers for delivery in a certain period,
we order the chipboard for the front
panels, the profiles and the aluminium
sheet. We then produce the front panels,
so that we‘re ready to assemble and
deliver on demand.“
The project is a good example of a
manufacturing network initiated by an
external product developer. Robert
Schörck is a highly professional company
with extensive know-how, high-calibre
skills and advnced production systems.
The company is set to grow still further.
service
Complete solutions for emergency care, perioperative care or intensive care
are all part of the wide product spectrum of Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG in
Lübeck. Their solutions create maximum flexibility in individual planning of
workplaces for patient care areas. Flexibility is the result of modularity,
which puts special demands on the system components and the way they
are manufactured. The InnoTech drawer system, as used by Robert Schörck
Büroeinrichtungen & Möbeltischlerei OHG in Lübeck, passed the test.
Robert Schörck Büroeinrichtungen &
Möbeltischlerei OHG
The cabinetmaker‘s workshop was started
in 1939 in Lübeck by Robert Schörck, the
grandfather of the present owner. Kai
Schörck, a qualified wood engineer, is
responsible for the technical side of the
business. Sven Schörck trained in banking
and now manages the commercial
aspects of the company. Robert Schörck
employs 18 people, five in the back office
and 13 in production, including one
apprentice. The company‘s reference list
includes the Dräger Group, Verbraucherzentrale
Schleswig Holstein (all consumer
advice centres), Volksbank Lübeck,
Stadtwerke Lübeck GmbH (a utility
company), Avis Krohn GmbH (all
branches), Niederegger (the Lübeck
marzipan makers), Olympus Deutschland
GmbH, Hamburg, the Lübeck campus of
the University Clinic Schleswig-Holstein,
Sana-Kliniken GmbH, Eutin, Oldenburg
and Fehmarn, casinos in Berlin, Schwerin
and Warnemünde, Procter and Gamble,
Max Factor by ELLEN BETRIX, Frankfurt
Zeil in the Karstadt department store.
Sven (l.) and Kai Schörck, owners
of Robert Schörck Büroeinrichtungen
& Möbeltischlerei OHG
39

"Almost 80% of our customers get a
daily delivery from us. We operate our
own fleet of trucks. It‘s our most
important USP“, say Claus Hedemann,
CEO of Carl Wilh. Meyer GmbH & Co.
KG in Oldenburg. The company was
founded in 1880 as a specialist
wholesaler for security systems,
building hardware and components,
tools and industrial equipment. Today,
the company also prides itself on the
ultra-modern logistics and a wide range
of services that make it an efficient
logistics partner and problem solver for
its customers.
40
The whole show kitchen is fitted with
Hettich hardware.
Logistics as USP
The company stocks over 40,000 items
in a 4,800 m2 warehouse and a 1,258 m2 high-bay warehouse with 3,600 pallet
slots. A fleet of 12 trucks supplies
customers in Lower Saxony, Bremen,
Hamburg and parts of Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern up to four times a week. In
2006, 160 employees, including 24 sales
reps and 12 drivers, generated sales of €
41 million. There are also eight young
people in training as wholesale and
export sales specialists.
The Ideas Shops are areas of a 1,800 m 2
showroom where customers can browse
displays of security systems, building
hardware and components, tools and
industrial system solutions and compare
technologies, designs and applications.
One focus is on interior fittings. "Furniture
fittings are an interesting product line for
Carl Wilh. Meyer scores on
closeness to customers

us, because they attract many smaller
customers and broaden our customer
base,“ explains Claus Hedemann.
Carl Wilh. Meyer has stocked Hettich
products for almost 20 years. During this
time, purchasing volume for interior
design products has concentrated more
and more on furniture fittings, which
today make up almost 95% of the
interior design section. No other supplier,
according to Claus Hedemann, has
anything like this focus on furniture
fittings. Hettich alone has 100 m 2 display
area in the showroom. Cabinet makers
and interior designers can bring their
customers here to see for themselves
some of the options for good design and
practical functionality inside kitchen
cabinets. A complete show kitchen,
incorporating the most advanced fittings
technology, is a practical demonstration
that "it takes more than attractive front
panels and modern appliances to make a
people-friendly kitchen that‘s a pleasure
to cook in,“ as Claus Hedemann says.
Another part of the showroom is dedicated
to the "Intelligent House“. This 60 m 2
display area was inaugurated as part of
the celebrations for the company‘s
125-year anniversary in 2005. It provides
information on over 200 electronic
components and their use in smart
buildings, for example, in access control
systems and automated doors. "We‘re
convinced that the future belongs to
electronics. Look how quickly people
have grown used to the remote locking
systems in their cars. The anomaly is that
they still lock up their houses and flats
with ordinary keys. We believe that
within the next five to ten years,
traditional keys in houses and offices will
be replaced by multifunctional remote
controls.“ The security shop and its
convincing product demonstrations are
A selection from the ProDecor Collection
well-visited features of the showroom,
attracting architects and end-users alike.
Carl Wilh. Meyer now supplies customers
as diverse as supraregional industrial
groups, power utilities and a shipping
company CEO, who had 40 electronic
locks fitted on two yachts. Order
processing for security systems is part
of a customer-friendly system solution
which starts with expert consulting,
project planning and installation,
acceptance testing and 24 hours
emergency service. Two technicians
and seven fitters ensure that everything
goes like clockwork.
Carl Wilh. Meyer, familiar with many
different Internet platforms, was a
Hettich pilot customer for ConXpert, the
electronic order processing system. Jan
Hübschmann, Sales Manager at Hettich
FurnTech, says: "We receive 90% of all
Carl Wilh. Meyer orders electronically.
Each order is entered once – at the
customer‘s – and after that it‘s all
electronic. We and the customer save a
vast amount of time and effort. And it
eliminates sources of error. Once on our
system, picking for urgent orders can
start straight away. Data management is
also easier and more efficient.“ Carl Wilh.
Meyer were quick to offer their customers
the option of ordering online via the
Internet, but people have been slow to
take advantage of this offer, "although it
would seem to be a practical solution
especially for interior hardware and
furniture fittings, where almost 100%
of the products are catalogue items,“
comments Claus Hedemann.
Electronic order processing is not the only
area where Carl Wilh. Meyer and Hettich
work closely together. Well aware that
our customers‘ success helps to drive our
success, Hettich also provides substantial
service
Josef Wittrock and Claus Hedemann, Managing
Directors of Carl Wilh. Meyer GmbH & Co. KG in
Oldenburg, and Jan Hübschmann, Sales Manager at
Hettich FurnTech (l. to r.)
support with marketing. In addition, Carl
Wilh. Meyer send two of their specialist
sales staff to Hettich for regular training
sessions. Thoroughly familiar with the
Hettich product range, these specialists
cooperate with Hettich‘s own regional
sales representative to serve local
customers. Jan Hübschmann sees the
presence of specialists in Hettich
products at our channel partners as the
key to a success. "It‘s the very best way
to be sure customers are getting the
expert advice they need,“ he maintains.
To the people at Carl Wilh. Meyer it has
always been obvious that competent
communication, information and advice
for customers have to be based on knowhow.
Claus Hedemann sums up their
recipe for successful partnership, "We
now have two specialist sales people and
three back office support staff looking
after interior fittings. Add to this our
Ideas Shops in the showroom and an
adequate inventory in our warehouses.
Fourthly, both partners benefit from
electronic order processing with ConXpert.“
Carl Wilh. Meyer believes the long-term
prospects for this partnership are good.
Both partners have set themselves the
goal of gaining an even bigger market
share.
41

The Palm Jumeirah –
facts & figures
Size: 5 km x 5 km
Land reclamation: 560 ha
Coastline: 78 km
Hotels: 32
Villas: approx. 1,800
Apartments: approx. 7,000
Centre:
68,000 m 2 shopping and office
complex with apartments and a
marina with 750 berths for private
yachts from 10 to 16 metres;
Trump International Hotel and
Tower with residential and hotel zones
Harbour on the coast:
400 berths for private yachts from
10 to 60 metres
Yahia Elgizawi,
Hettich FurnTech
Palm Jumeirah: the ”eighth
wonder of the world“ is
ready for occupation
The Palm Jumeirah is the smallest of the
islands and the first to be completed.
From the air, the date-palm shape of the
island, with its central trunk and 17 long
fronds is clearly recognizable. A crescentshaped
breakwater and reef creates a calm
lagoon around the complex. On the trunk
of Palm Jumeirah, the Trump International
Hotel – the first Trump investment in real
estate in the Middle East – soars into the
cloudless sky. Along the fronds are
exclusive villa and marina developments,
with the entrance to each protected by
security staff bent on guarding the privacy
of the owners. According to project
developer and owner Nakheel, all the
island properties were sold within 72
hours of being put on the market.
Project Business
Fittings for over 1,000 villas
The villa and apartment buyers could
choose among different building styles,
from Mediterranean and Arabic, to
colonial and Balinese. All the villas were
supplied with fitted storage units. The
company that won the contract to supply
the units for over 1,000 villas turned to
Hettich for the hardware. "It‘s recognition
of our outstanding quality,“ says Yahia
Elgizawi, Area Sales Manager for Hettich
FurnTech. "Our manufacturing competence
and our professional service were decisive
for both the outfitting company and the
architects responsible for the whole
project.“
Hettich supplied all-round support in all
phases of the project, from advice on
the choice of fittings, product training and

At the moment, Dubai must count as one of the world‘s biggest building sites. In fact, it‘s been
calculated that around a quarter of all the construction cranes in the world are now operating in
Dubai. One of the most exciting projects is "The Palm“, sometimes described as the ”eighth wonder
of the world”, with its three man-made islands – Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Deira. By
2010, the shorelines of the new islands will have added several hundred kilometres to the coastline
of the Emirate of Dubai. On Palm Jumeirah with its luxury villas and apartments, Hettich fittings
are now in use in over 1,000 villas.
detailed instructions for assembly and
installation, to customized delivery
logistics. "The architects were full of praise
for our creativity,“ said Elgizawi, "they‘re
impressed by the way we integrate
functionality into an attractive design.“
One critical specification for the fittings
supplier was fast, on-site assembly. To
meet this requirement, Hettich FurnTech
developed a special packaging and
shipping concept. "Our aim was to be
100% sure that, despite the size and
complexity of the building site, all the
Hettich fittings would arrive on time and
exactly where they were required,“
explained Elgizawi. Each villa had to be
supplied with its specific fittings selection.
Apart from standard information, each
package label also specified where in each
villa the fitting was to be installed.
Hettich supplied a number of different
fittings for the Palm Jumeirah project,
including fast-assembly hinges, Oni brass
hinges, Quadro drawer runners with Silent
System, sliding door fittings, and pulls and
handles from the ProDecor range.
In Dubai, Movements LLC, Hettich‘s longterm
local trading partner, gave the
fullest support for the prestige Palm
Jumeirah project. The prospects of further
orders for Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira
are good. And finally, there is the "World“
archipelago with 300 artificial islands,
making a map of the world. All these
projects offer tremendous scope to
news
reinforce the trust we have already
gained by delivering quality products
and outstanding service.
43

Kangjie, one of the pioneers in the
Chinese kitchen industry, began
making stainless steel kitchens in 1993.
Steel offers unbeatable durability and
easy care. It also chimes well with the
company philosophy, "Do it best if you
want“. Kangjie started in a modest
way with a production plant in Hebei
Province, not far from Beijing. Its
approach to customer service was
revolutionary for the time and place.
And it helped to open the market for
modern kitchens in China.
Five years later, Kangjie was one of
the leading kitchen manufacturers in
China. The company added wood
processing to its core business and
invested in high-tech machinery from
HOMAG in order to compete on an
international level. In 2000, with the
support of consultants from Schuler,
Kangjie restructured its production
processes. A master plan and IT-based
systems have helped to boost production
capacity.
The company‘s quality management
system is certified to ISO 9001:2000.
The company has self-declared the
44
The road to success for
Kangjie Kitchens in China
Returns with no questions asked
"If you‘re not 100% satisfied, you can give it back!“ This has been
Kangjie Kitchens‘ policy since 2004 and it has earned the company
wide customer trust. It‘s a further advance on a standard of
service that has catapulted the Beijing Kangjie Home Furniture Co.
Ltd. into the ranks of Chinese market leaders, in just 13 years.
Starting small, the company‘s annual sales are now approaching €
E50 million. Kangjie is a strategic partner for Hettich Interna-
tional in China.
Wang Zhanfu
environmental compatibility of its
products and manufacturing processes
to ISO 14021 (type II environmental
labelling) and ISO 14025 (type III
environmental declaration). Kangjie
products carry the UKAS certificate
(United Kingdom Accreditation Service).
This commitment to quality is an
integral part of company philosophy
and it also characterizes the company‘s
marketing. It would be true to say that
Kangjie‘s marketing campaigns have
changed the way kitchens are sold in
China. In 2001, the company launched an
advertising campaign promising repairs
for five years and a 10-year quality
guarantee. It created an uproar in the
kitchen sector with seven service
promises – free advice, planning, delivery,
installation, cleaning, moving house and
replacement. In 2004, Kangjie again stirred
up the market, shocked competitors and
reinforced its brand image by promising,
"If you‘re not 100% satisfied, you can
give it back!“
Kangjie‘s distribution network,
including many company-owned
kitchen studios, covers Beijing and most
of the cities in the north, north west and
north east of China. The network is being
expanded at a rate of 50% annually. The
company currently employs 800 people
and has its sights set on growth. 2002
saw the opening of a new 5,000 m 2
administration building. The company has
a 2,000 m 2 showroom in Beijing‘s Daxing
industrial area, a 30,000 m 2 production
plant in Hebei Province and more
production capacity is due to go onstream
in 2007. The foundation stone for the
new plant (150,000 m 2 ) was laid on June
16, 2006. When production roll-out is
completed in 2007, it will provide annual
production capacity of 200,000 T-profile

doors, 50,000 kitchen cabinets and
15,000 bathroom cabinets. Kangjie‘s
annual sales are approaching the
impressive figure of a 50 million.
The moving force behind this tremendous
growth is Mr. Wang Zhanfu, CEO
of Kangjie Kitchens. He correctly
predicted that demand for kitchens would
escalate and in 2006 added bathroom
furniture to the company‘s product
spectrum in 2006. He has also made the
T-profile door the new yardstick for door
quality in China. Part of his mission is to
make European lifestyle furniture familiar
in China. Kangjie had built a brand where
the focus is not so much on products as
on a whole comfortable, cosmopolitan
lifestyle. When asked to
sum up the reasons for
his success, Mr. Wang
Zhanfu will tell you,
"Top quality products,
the best service and
continuous innovation.“
And his strategic partner
Hettich International
heartily concurs.
news
45

The idea for the tour came from Aidan
Jury, General Sales and Marketing
Manager at Hettich Australia. The other
sponsors, who contributed massively to
the tour‘s success, were Australian
appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel
and the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
Aidan Jury sums up his motives for
inviting the world-famous kitchen
designer to Australia: "We wanted to
present Australian architects and
designers with completely new and very
exciting ideas for planning kitchens.
Australian designers are ahead of their
time; they‘re always trying out new ideas.
To get their attention you have to do a
lot more than simply launch new
products in the marketplace.“
At fully-booked out seminars and workshops,
Johnny Grey talked about his kitchen
design philosophy. His ideas provoked
lively discussions as participants put
forward their own views on kitchen
design. At evening events for the general
public, Johnny Grey fascinated audiences
with his views on intelligent and emotional
designs that often break sharply with
conventional kitchen planning philosophies.
The tour theme, Design for Sociable
Kitchens and Sanctuary, provoked a
cascade of new ideas from Johnny Grey.
46
Simon Hodgson, Chairman of the
HIA’s Kitchen and Bath Committee (l.),
and Johnny Grey
Johnny Grey‘s Australia tour
Use emotional intelligence to plan sociable, highly individual kitchens –
this was the message from internationally renowned kitchen designer
Johnny Grey. During a two-week Australia tour in June 2006, he spoke
in Melbourne, Sidney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to over 1,000 people
from the kitchen and bath sector. Before that he was the keynote
speaker at the National Kitchen and Bath Conference in Auckland/New
Zealand.
Instead of conventional linear work
surfaces, he works with different activity
zones, ergonomic work-surface heights
and a mix of colours and materials. Grey‘s
concept of "soft geometry“ – flowing,
curved shapes, creating natural routes
through a space – encourages a natural
workflow and creates a companionable
atmosphere. He favours planning a
kitchen around a central island, so that
people face into the room while they‘re
cooking instead of looking at the walls.
"If you can create a clear overview and a
feeling of wellbeing, then you‘ve taken
the first step in the direction of a sociable
kitchen,“ says Johnny Grey. He applies
emotional intelligence to kitchen planning.
Johnny Grey‘s Australia tour stirred huge
interest among architects and designers
and the reaction both during and after
the tour was overwhelmingly positive.
Reports heaped praise on him as a
unique, forward-thinking and talented
professional. His talks and presentations
set off an avalanche of new ideas.
For Hettich the tour was one of the
highlights in our policy of establishing
direct contacts with architects and
interior designers. "It was a thoughtprovoking
event for all concerned,“ says
Aidan Jury. So the final round of applause
goes to the three tour sponsors who
successfully put a great idea into action.
In so doing, they demonstrated that
successful brand building need not be
product-based.
Who is Johnny Grey?
Johnny Grey is one of the most influential
kitchen designers in the western world.
His ideas, expounded in a number of
books – including The Art of Kitchen
Design, which has become a standard
reference book for designers – are
thought-provoking, challenging and
inspiring. His ideas on how a kitchen
should look were shaped by his aunt
Elizabeth David. The cook books she
wrote from the 1950s onwards introduced
the British public to Mediterranean
cooking and had a far-reaching influence
on food and kitchens. "In my aunt‘s
kitchen there were no linear work
surfaces or rows of built-in cupboards…
but she was a superb cook and we
enjoyed some unbelievably good meals in
that kitchen.“ Childhood experiences of
the kitchen as the hub of family life are
one source of his original approach to
kitchen design. Johnny Grey says he could
never imagine a kitchen as simply a
linear, wall-based collection of cupboards.

Johnny Grey studied architecture in the
early 1970s, financing his studies by
restoring antique furniture. This sideline
deepened his love of fine craftsmanship
and creativity, features that run through
his design philosophy. Key ideas are
emotional, intelligent design, sociable
kitchens, soft flowing shapes, material
mixes and a lot of light. Johnny Grey and
his teams plan kitchens that take account
of how users interact with their environment
and what they intuitively like.
With his design studios in England and
the USA, Johnny Grey has built a
reputation as an original designer and
trendsetter, especially for kitchens. He
sees the kitchen less as a food preparation
news
Emotional intelligence
for kitchens
zone and more as the sociable heart of a
modern home. "We don‘t design kitchens,
we design living spaces in which people
can cook,“ he maintains.
47

Cabcor, Canada:
quality sells
kitchens
In 2003, the Canadian Cabcor
Group, headquartered in Deauville
(Quebec), acquired the kitchen
brand Denla and then in 2005,
followed that with the acquisition
of Cuisine Idéale. Over two-
thirds of production goes to the
USA. The company is facing
market pressures due to the
rising value of the Canadian
dollar, which pushes up prices for
US customers, and imports from
Asia, which are distorting prices.
The Cabcor Group is countering
these impacts by reinforcing its
quality image, for example, by
highlighting the extra quality
features and
convenience
offered by
fittings from
Hettich.
Cuisine Idéale Inc.
980, Panneton street
Sherbrooke (Québec)
J1K 2B2
Tel.: 888-566-8080
Fax: 819-566-0285
E-mail:
info@cuisineideale.com
Design and function
perfectly teamed
“The partnership with Hettich is part of our promise to you that
only the highest quality components are used in our products,
and thus can be delivered under the Cuisine Idéale name.“
Yves Gagnon, President Cuisine Idéale
48www.hettich.com www.cuisineideale.com www.cuisineideale.com www.hettich.com
Yves Gagnon is an entrepreneur par
excellence. He has operated a number
of independent companies. When he set
up Cabcor four years ago, his explicit goal
was to take over Denla Inc. in Sherbrooke
(Quebec), a successful kitchen manufacturer
since 1974. By summer 2005, he
had achieved this goal. Then the time was
ripe to seize the opportunity to take over
another Sherbrooke kitchen manufacturer,
Cuisine Idéale, and expand his kitchen
empire still further.
The product lines of the two companies
were a perfect fit. Denla was synonymous
with a broad product range, targeted
especially at the project market. On the
other hand, Cuisine Idéale (founded in
1971) had built a reputation for supplying
custom, built-in kitchens for people who
wanted nothing but the best. When
Cabcor took them over, the two companies
together employed 242 people and
generated annual sales of around
c18 million.
From the start, Yves Gagnon knew he
was facing a difficult market situation,
created by rising imports from Asia and
the falling exchange rate of the US dollar
against its Canadian counterpart. It was
imperative to differentiate his
products from the competition, for
example, by emphasizing quality
and value for money. Rigorous
Kitchen brands Denla and Cuisine
Idéale use fittings from Hettich
cost control was another priority. First, he
focused on maximizing the synergies
available to two factories operating in
the same city. Second, he looked at ways
of optimizing component purchasing.
Equally important was to maintain the
high-recognition brand images built up
over 30 years. "We have to be sure that
we are meeting our customers‘ expectations
when it comes to quality and
individual design,“ say the people at
Cabcor. "We achieve this by using top
quality materials, by continuous improvements
to our manufacturing processes
and, not least, through our partnership
with Hettich International.“
The outstanding functionality and
convenience of Hettich products
underlines Cabcor‘s quality claim.
Intermat hinges, MultiTech drawers and
Quadro drawer slides, with and without
damping systems, all deliver convincing
sales arguments. An advertising campaign
featuring these products clearly shows
that the name Hettich has become
synonymous with quality and functionality.
And Yves Gagnon says, "Thanks to
partnerships with suppliers like Hettich,
with their own strong brands, we can
offer our customers the very highest
value.“

Innovative products – outstanding
service
Bentwood Kitchens, a manufacturer of custom kitchens in
Lancaster/Texas, selected Hettich America to receive its 2006
Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. The award recognizes the
excellent service, innovation and flexibility that have characterized
Hettich‘s cooperation with Bentwood. Bentwood Kitchens markets
its products across the USA via 75 independent dealers and in 36
design centers in the Home Depot store chain.
The partnership between Bentwood and
Hettich has been growing steadily since
its inception three years ago. Today,
Bentwood uses Hettich‘s whole line of
hinges and drawer glides in its cabinets.
Apart from some impressive products, it
was Hettich‘s experience and commitment
in the areas of production and
logistics that earned us the only MVP
Award made in 2006.
"It was three years ago that we decided
to change from another leading fittings
supplier to Hettich. The decisive factor
then was product quality and particularly
Hettich‘s innovative, forward-looking
approach to new product development,“
explains Kevin Bryant, joint owner of
Bentwood, together with Randy Pittard
and Wyman Stewart. "Even then we were
sure that Hettich would turn out to be a
trendsetter in product innovations.
Looking at their product offering today,
we feel very good about our decision.“
Thomas Ginschel, Managing Director
of Hettich America, is delighted and
honoured by this award from such a
high-end cabinet maker. "The award
underlines the fact that our products
and our customer service are second to
none,“ he says. "We‘ll keep on striving for
quality, just as we have in the partnership
with Bentwood.“
Bryant remarked that Bentwood was
very impressed by the way Hettich has
continued to deliver on new product
expectations over the past two years.
Bentwood also praised the support and
service they received from Hettich
America‘s Key Account Manager, Chad
Wheeler, and Division Manager, Ingo
Harders.
news
Hettich wins MVP Award 2006 from
Bentwood Kitchens
InnoTech drawers with Silent System
Bentwood Kitchens was founded 17 years
ago. Today‘s team is over 125 strong and
includes designers, wood crafters and
finishers. The company builds highly
individual kitchens for the luxury end of
the market. All wood crafting and surface
finishes are completed by hand to ensure
long-lasting appeal. Crafting skills and
attention to detail combined with high
quality materials create beautiful kitchen
cabinets with long-lasting appeal.
Functional hardware, such as hinges and
drawer glides, from Hettich blend
perfectly into this perfectionist approach.
49

Partnership for success
Teams from Legallais and Hettich France at
Hettich FurnTech in Vlotho
Success leaves nothing to
chance. This was one reason
why Hettich initiated a privileged
partnership with the French
hardware retailer Legallais.
A quality and service campaign
run by the two companies in
parallel was the launch pad for
an ongoing commitment.
50
Hettich has been a Legallais supplier
since 1992, and the partnership has
grown and flourished. In 2005, Legallais
included the complete Hettich product
spectrum of furniture fittings – around
1,600 items – in its catalogue. Today,
Legallais stocks around 1,700 Hettich
products and will ship any of them
anywhere in France within 24 hours.
Any other Hettich product can be ordered
from Legallais and ships within five
working days from Hettich‘s logistics
centre in Germany.
Great customer service
Legallais works continuously to build
strategic advantages and reinforce its
Employees from Legallais and Hettich on
a joint trip to Tunisia
Hettich and Legallais
position as a market leader. For instance,
when customers order parts they need
them fast, and Legallais makes sure this
happens with:
· A huge and comprehensive product
offering (27,000 items available
ex-stock and shipped within 24 hours)
· A complete and detailed catalogue
updated and published each year with
a print run of 110,000 copies
· A strong sales team, working continuously
to expand the company‘s
leading position in the French hardware
market
· Eight sales support points
· Ultra-modern logistics systems
(platform logistics, 16,000 m 2
facilities and automated dispatch)
· Highly efficient call centre to take
orders
· Service-intensive and interactive
website

Hettich gives Legallais proactive
support
Hettich provides Legallais with expert
advice and practical support for sales
promotion:
· Training and support for the sales
teams (group training courses, lecture
tours, visits to Hettich production
plants in Germany)
· Competitions
· Joint participation in trade shows (eg,
the Artibat 2006 in France)
· High quality, effective sales support
(catalogues, brochures, promotional
tools, etc.)
· Regular consultation on strategic
issues including recommendations and
support with product range decisions.
· Support at special events, for example
the Strategy Launch Seminar 2007.
Looking ahead
Hettich is a Legallais premium partner in
the area of furniture fittings. The results
to date have been very good for both
businesses. In the medium term, the two
companies plan to intensify their
cooperation and increase the synergies
between their teams. Their common goal
is continued sales growth and more
market share, echoing the outstanding
growth in 2006. The mood is optimistic,
with both partners looking forward to a
long and fruitful cooperation.
news
Legallais: facts & figures
Employees: 440
Annual sales: C88 million
Founded : 1889
Headquarters: Hérouville (Normandy/
France)
Core business:
Hardware retailing (building industry,
furniture, tools and fastenings) to artisans
and professionals throughout France
CEO:
Philippe Casenave-Péré
Internet:
www.legallais.com
51

Maritime Møbler AS is a
specialist designer and
manufacturer of marine
furniture. Located on Bolsøya
island, on the Norwegian west
coast, the company has a world-
wide reputation. In 2006, it
supplied furniture for 65 ships
and by January 2007, it had 100
new ships from all over the world
on its order books. At the core of
Maritime Møbler‘s success are
very competitive prices,
outstanding design, high quality
and attention to detail. Hettich
International earned a place on
board thanks to the functionality
and durability of our fittings and
our ability to tune our logistics
to our customer‘s production
schedules.
Maritime Møbler‘s main customer
base is in the commercial shipping
sector – freighters, tankers, fishing ships
and ferries. The company ships its
products around the world, to Denmark,
Poland, Germany, Croatia, Romania, UK,
Spain, Brazil, Japan and the USA. In 2006,
sales topped e6 million.
52
Maritime Møbler, Norway, makes fine
furniture for ships
Comfort
below deck
After 40 years in the sector, the
company run by owner Odd Birkeland
is, by its own assessment, Norway‘s
leading supplier of ship‘s furniture.
Maritime Møbler AS itself was set up by
Birkeland in 1993. Its main production
plant is on Bolsøya, an idyllic island with
excellent international transport links,
near Molde on Norway‘s west coast.
25 employees work in the ultra-modern,
2,850 m2 production plant. Another 12
people are employed in the Polish
subsidiary, Meble Morskie.
Otto Hammerö is Technical Director,
responsible among many other things
for product development. He sees a
number of reasons for the company‘s
success. One is the choice available to
customers. In addition to more traditional
styles of furniture, the company offers a
contemporary design range, the Alu
Design Collection. And it has recently
launched the Alu Design Collection
Exclusive, a high-end furniture range for
areas like the captain‘s cabin. Because
weight is often critical, the material most
used is lightweight European poplar
plywood. Using a special impregnating
technique, it can be made flame retardent
without adding extra weight. Different
door designs, drawer versions and colours
are available. Special requests are the
norm.
There were two main reasons for
Maritime Møbler‘s choice of Hettich
International as a supply partner. One
was the quality and functionality of the
Hettich fittings. The other was Hettich‘s
ability to respond flexibly to changing
fittings requirements. We achieve this by
working with the local hardware dealers
Molde Jernvare AS, who keep a special
stock for Maritime Møbler.
With its specialization in sophisticated
marine outfitting, Maritime
Møbler operates in a niche market
somewhat removed from the spotlight
of global competition. Nonetheless, Odd
Birkeland has competitors and his aim is
to keep well to windward of them. His
company‘s hefty order backlog shows
that he is on the right course.

InLine sliding door fitting:
2006 Product of the Year in Poland
In 2006, the fourth cycle of Poland’s “Meble Plus – Product of the Year” competition
attracted entries from 70 companies, who registered around 200 products – furniture,
components and fittings – in a total of 12 categories. The jury assessed the entries on
the basis of good design, user benefits, manufacturing quality, price/performance ratio,
compliance with norms and standards and level of innovation.
Hettich’s InLine sliding door fitting placed first in the Furniture Hardware category as
being highly innovative, functional and aesthetic. The competition is organized by the
Polish furniture industry journal Meble Plus to promote furniture, furniture hardware,
intermediate products, design elements, upholstery materials and chemical substances
available on the Polish market.
The Product of the Year award is yet another feather in Hettich’s cap. In 2005, our Polish
subsidiary, Hettich Polska, was designated Partner of the Year by the journal Produkcja
Mebli.
Dr. Andreas Hettich, patron of the project Hettich Office Excellence, congratulates
project leader Norbert Günther on the company’s second place in a benchmarking
project aimed at improving efficiency in the office. (Photo: Hettich)
Office Excellence Award 2006:
Hettich places second
For the second time now, management consultants Macils Management-
Centrum GmbH, Stuttgart, have honoured the companies in Germany
that benchmark with the most effective measures for increasing office
efficiency. The awards for 2006 were announced at a ceremony in Kassel
on January 30, 2007. As in the previous year, the first and second places
went to the automotive components supplier Mann + Hummel, Ludwigsburg,
and the Hettich Group, respectively. The health service provider MH
PlusContiTech in Hanover placed third.
The influence of the project on the participating companies can be seen
from the assessments. The number of points awarded to the company that
placed third in 2006, would have easily won the company a first place
in 2005. Both Hettich and the first-placed company collected far more
points than the first time around. In other words, they’ve continued to
improve. Project leader Norbert Günther reports that around 650 people
at Hettich are directly involved in the Hettich Office Excellence project
under the aegis of Dr. Andreas Hettich.
Office Excellence – More Productivity in the Office is a cooperative
benchmarking & transfer project with currently more than 25 well-known
companies participating. They work to increase efficiency in six modular
steps. Office processes and procedures are restructured and optimized,
so that the time and effort expended on administrative activities are
drastically reduced.
New for British bedrooms:
Sharps standardizes on
Silent System
in brief
Rafal Plochow, Hettich Polska, was delighted about the
Product of the Year award.
Sharps is British market leader for custom-planned
bedrooms. Another speciality is furniture for home
offices. Since the beginning of the year, Sharps has been
integrating Silent System damping in the runner systems
of all bedroom drawers. The company is using this
innovative feature as a convincing POS argument and in
all advertising promotions – including TV spots – to
differentiate its products strongly from the competition.
Chris Gooding, Marketing Director of the HomeForm
Group commented: “We’re very satisfied with the good
cooperation with Hettich to improve our products and
we’re impressed with the manufacturing and service
quality that Hettich offers. It’s important for us,
because it supports our efforts to maintain our usual high
standards of quality and design.” Sharps is part of the
HomeForm Group and markets its bedroom furniture in
over 200 of its own stores across the UK. As a rule, these
stores also sell möben kitchens and dolphin bathrooms,
two other HomeForm brands.
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Hettich Polska:
The right background
Hettich Polska also has a new and
well-equipped showroom. The official
opening in June 2006 was among the
events timed to celebrate the ten-year
anniversary of the founding of this
Hettich subsidiary. The 300 m 2
showroom is divided into two main areas.
One is dedicated to displaying products
from the six areas Kitchen & Bathroom,
Residential, Office, DIY, Magic lighting
systems and hinges. The other part of the
showroom is a platform for Hettich
Academy and its information events,
customer meetings and training sessions.
The attractive showroom invites industrial
customers, retailers, architects, students
and cabinetmakers to come and be
inspired by what Hettich has to offer.
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Hettich Strothmann:
New Design and Sales Centre
In April, the Hettich Strothmann team moved into a new Design and
Sales Centre on Industriestraße in Rietberg. The 2-storey, 500 m 2 centre
provides new ultra-modern workplaces for 30 employees from Development,
Sales, Service and Quality Management.
The centre also includes a 100 m 2 showroom which is also planned as a
communication hub for dialogue with national and international
customers, business partners and colleagues. The showroom’s layout and
design and the attractive and eye-catching product displays show the
ProDecor Collection in its best light.

Hettich Australia:
Sydney showroom opening
In December 2006, Hettich Australia opened its newly refurbished showroom in Smithfield,
Sydney, with a party for 160 invited guests. Some of the impetus for the new showroom
came from Eden Brae Homes, one of Australia’s largest home manufacturers and a longtime
Hettich customer. Eden Brae Homes wanted to be able to showcase and discuss the
products with their clients in a well-equipped showroom.
Because clients need to select more than just hardware for their new dream kitchen, Hettich
teamed up with Australia and New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of laminate products
– The Laminex Group – to set up the centre where clients can select all the hardware and
surface materials for their new kitchen in one place.
Eden Brae Homes were involved in much of the process and are very satisfied with the
final result. They have begun using the newly developed online booking system to book time
for their clients with Hettich’s showroom consultants. The clients will be able to tour the
showroom, see the many options, discuss their kitchen design and upgrade elements as they
choose. Hettich’s Intelligent Kitchen concept, a fresh and novel approach in the industry, is
being utilized to design kitchens with the user in mind in a very hands-on environment.
The new showroom features the latest Hettich trends and innovations and also has a
technical area for a more ‘in depth’ look at the mechanics of each product. On display are
two fully fitted out kitchens with Hettich’s core products.
Hettich UK moves into
London’s fashion
heartland
in brief
April saw the grand opening of Hettich UK’s
new London Showroom, with many
prominent architects and designers among
the invited guests. The 220 m 2 showroom in
London’s EC1 postal district was styled by
Craig Jones, a well-known British furniture
designer, in a sophisticated mix of functionality
and understated elegance. Entering the
Showroom, which extends over two floors,
you plunge immediately into the brilliant
world of lighting systems. Meeting points
and seminar rooms invite people to feel at
home and stay awhile. One staircase down,
in the basement, there is an attractive
display of Hettich’s product range.
London EC1 is a top address for design and
fashion. Leading international furniture
brands are clustered around here, together
with some of the most infuential design
studios and architects’ offices.
“This district of London was the obvious
place for our new showroom,” says Hettich
UK General Sales Manager, Philip Tipson.
“We’re among the innovation leaders in the
field of quality fittings and our presence in
London’s EC1 district makes it easier for
architects and designers based in London
and the south of England to keep in touch
with the latest trends and to get on the
track of new ideas and practical solutions.
Our new showroom is not a platform for
aggressive sales tactics; on the contrary, it’s
a top address for architects and interior
designers, who want to immerse themselves
in an inspirational and creative atmosphere
and find support in tackling the challenges
of today and tomorrow.”
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www.hettich.com