The Orgatec is starting in a few weeks in Cologne and it´s one of the biggest officefurniture tradeshows in the world with tens of thousands of visitors and manufacturers showing their latest innovations and sharing their views on officeplanning.
Officenieuws is covering the Orgatec live, but before it all starts we have been talking with some CEO´s of well known manufacturers of officefurniture about the Orgatec, their company and what we can expect at the end of October.
The interviews are always in the same ´five-questions´ format. you can find the interviews in English here, in Dutch here and in German here.
Sharing his ideas today is Claudio Feltrin – CEO of Arper
Mr Feltrin, can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
I am currently the Chairman and CEO of Arper.
With my family, and in particular with my father Luigi Feltrin, Honorary Chairman of Arper, I have led the far-reaching developments that have characterized the company, and launched the business management and internationalization processes that now define the identity of Arper.
Sharing with them the journey undertaken by the company has remarkably influenced my entrepreneurial approach. We have always considered ourselves first and foremost as a family facing challenges together. My father is still a driving force, encouraging us to never stop evolving. Arper’s goals today are also the result of his determination.
What is more, I am very satisfied that my son Giulio has held the position of Global Showroom Manager for several years now.
His integration into the company further confirms Arper’s will to ensure continuity in its entrepreneurial project.
What does your company do, and where can visitors find you on the Orgatec?
Established in 1989, Arper is an Italian company producing and distributing office, home and contract sector furniture worldwide.
Arper is a growing company with a turnover of 67 million Euros in 2015, 80% of which realized in the contract sector.
With distribution in over 90 countries by an extensive network of dealers and agents, Arper is structured into an international company that now has three subsidiaries (Arper Usa, Arper Middle East and Arper Uk) and 11 showrooms in major world capitals: Milan, London, Cologne, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Oslo, Copenhagen, New York, Chicago and Dubai, in addition to the in-house showroom at the headquarters in Treviso.
Orgatec offers an important opportunity to introduce our new collections, which we presented during the latest Salone del Mobile, to the German and international markets. During the fair the Arper booth will cover a 330 square meter block in Pav. 10.2, J-019-K-018.
What would be the main reason to visit your booth on the Orgatec?
The concept that Arper will be bringing to Orgatec 2016 is the pursuit of the essential, as the evolution of a key cornerstone that has accompanied us from the very beginning.
The design process undertaken by the company will take shape through its collections, spaces, and communication, brought together to form a coherent and harmonious whole.
The six values of Arper’s DNA – balance, color, intuition, play, lightness, and family – will be the leitmotiv that will also unwind through the vignettes of the stand. These are the result of an international collaboration between Arper, 2×4 Madrid design studio, Lievore Altherr Molina and stylist Stef Bakker.
Colors, a crucial element in Arper’s design, will take the lead in the installation: combined with different materials, they will be enhanced giving life to a skilful interplay of harmonious shades. The perimeter of the stand, together with the central area, will act as a guide for the visitor who will be able to see the Arper collections within settings that embody the transversal and flexible natures of our products.
What new developments and products can we expect from your company on the Orgatec and in the next months, and which impact will they have for your stakeholders?
The collections that will be presented at Orgatec 2016 will express the concept of Soft Tech, as continuity and evolution of the journey undertaken by the company with the aim of responding effectively to the demands of a market that is characterized by increasingly rapid changes and requires products that can bring substantial innovation.
The idea behind Soft Tech is to create versatile, light and essential products, ones that are naturally comfortable thanks to cutting-edge, invisible technology. These ideas are perfectly embodied in our new collections – Meety, Catifa 46, Catifa 53, Parentesit, Yop and Wim – which all share the same DNA as Arper.
Products that are aesthetically elegant, essential and smart, complying with regulatory requirements without being conditioned. Since these products are available in many versions which can, in turn, be customized in numerous combinations they are not only functional but, above all, holistic, as they have been designed with the various needs of the individual in mind, amongst which, the desire to work in a pleasant environment, one that is empathic, less formal but more aware.
Consider the Meety system of tables. Thanks to the wide range of tops available, in different shapes, sizes and materials, it responds to the individual needs of working environments.
For example, the tables, when paired, create two different combinations: by joining the longer sides the table has an oval-like shape, making it ideal for meetings. By joining the shorter sides, the table creates an X to offer visual privacy in a shared working environment. The trapezoidal version, on the other hand, has been created to encourage dialogue and collaboration. Introduced at the Salone del Mobile 2016, this system of flexible tables will be presented at Orgatec with new interesting finishes.
Versatility is also represented by the new color palette and the new finishes introduced in the Catifa collection.
Designed in 2004 by Lievore Altherr Molina for contract environments, Catifa 46 maintains its essential shapes, but comes to 2016 with a renewed range of colors: the delicate nuances rosé, petrol, yellow, ivory and dove grey, offer the opportunity to choose between new color pairings.
The original series that started it all, Catifa 53, is reimagined with a matte plastic or leather finish, lending sophistication and modern character to the quintessential form.
Another extremely functional product for working environments is the Parentesit wall panel.
Parentesit is a collection of decorative modular acoustic wall panels. Also featuring the added functionality of light and/or audio in the wall panel Parentesit creates integrated technology on a human scale: Soft Tech at its essence. Arper extends the Parentesit range by introducing new freestanding decorative models for increased privacy and comfort.
The Lievore Altherr Molina studio has also designed two brand new table collections combining elegant appearance and functionality. A quintessential form, pared down to its most elegant components, Wim is a collection of companion piece tables to Arper’s catalog of chairs.
Maximum efficiency and optimization of space, prerogatives of working environments, characterize Yop, designed to be opened when needed and then closed again for easy storage.
What will be the key trends we will see on the Orgatec and do they fit in your vision about ´Working life in 2020?
For several years now, the character of our work and the place where we carry out our duties have been at the heart of extensive changes, that have included not only how we work but also what we do and where we do it. After decades of great emphasis on prestigious offices and high profile premises, nowadays technology is changing our way of working: shifting from immobility to flexibility, from severe limitation to dynamism.
The digital revolution, the result of parallel progress in information technology and telecommunication systems, has given rise to a new economy of knowledge. In the wake of the digital revolution, the traditional office is just one of the many models in the ever changing scenario of the use of space.
With the changing needs linked to the workplace, it seems clear that the office of the future will be an adaptable space, spread out, shared and versatile for an increasingly creative, accessible and flexible use.
Design firms must be ready to face this challenge, and be able to interpret the market and emerging trends, in order to anticipate them wherever possible.
About Arper – the pursuit of the essential
Is an object as elemental as a chair or a table still subject to insight or innovation? After eons of development, is there still something to be done? We say: Absolutely. Everything is in flux – life, culture, technology – and that basic fact demands a considered response. Good design is a synthesis of technique, cost, material, function, use, taste and sustainability.
That concentration of meanings, associations and possibilities must reside in simple, singular forms. We believe the best objects carry a rich, intellectual density in a shape that seems natural and effortless. An object that feels spontaneous while clearly the result of rigor and precision.
Creating new forms that are physically and stylistically resilient is hard work, but this is the work we embrace. This way of thinking and working – the pursuit of the essential – extends to everything we do.
