Cutting edge furniture solutions Nowy Styl

CUTTING EDGE FURNITURE SOLUTIONS

The successful Polish company Nowy Styl had always been focused in the past on exports. However, four years ago, it decided to expand through acquisitions and this has been an important driver for growth. Piotr Sadowski reports.

IN 2011 Nowy Styl took over its first German company, thus incorporating a well-established brand, Grammer Office, into its portfolio. Grammer is a manufacturer of advanced, ergonomic office chairs with patented mechanisms. In 2013 it completed the acquisition of another Germany company, Rohde & Grahl, which has significant shares on the German and Dutch markets. This particular takeover enabled the Nowy Styl Group to significantly strengthen its position on the German market, which itself became the biggest single market for the group, as well as to establish itself on the difficult Benelux market. Then, in June 2014, the company completed the purchase of 50 per cent of shares in the manufacturing and distributing company TCC – The Chair Company – with a very strong position on the massive and very dynamic Turkish market.

“In August this year the group added, through acquisition, another company to its portfolio, SITAG AG, actively operating on the Swiss market,” says company spokesperson Alina Szastok. “In order to cope with the growth of sales, at the same time we invested in production infrastructure and at the beginning of this year we opened a brand new Factory of Office Furniture in Jasło, one of the most modern factories of its type in Europe.”

The purchase of SITAG AG was particularly important for the Nowy Styl Group as it enabled it to enter the Swiss market, which, together with Germany and Austria, is one of the strongest in western Europe. The headquarters of numerous corporations are located there, as are their purchasing departments and R&D centres. Through the takeover of SITAG the group acquired a distribution network on a market where previously its sales had been minimal. “We chose SITAG because, on the professional market, it is a renowned brand of products with high ergonomic qualities and strong, clear design templates,” adds Ms Szastok.

Robust operations and brands

Nowy Styl Group is the third largest manufacturer of office furniture in Europe, according to the JSA League Table of European Office Furniture Companies (data from 31 July 2015). It exports its products to over 100 countries on six continents and has its own operations in 16 countries. The group has its own showrooms in 19 cities, including London, Paris, Munich, Warsaw and Prague. Its manufacturing facilities are located in Poland, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in Turkey, Ukraine and Russia through joint-ventures. It is also investing significantly in South America and Africa, although the key region for development remains western Europe. Here, Germany is the most important market, with approximately 30 per cent of all group sales ending up here. The percentage of sales to other markets are as follows: Poland 19 per cent, Switzerland 12 per cent, Benelux 7 per cent, France 7 per cent, other European markets 20 per cent and the rest of the world 5 per cent.

The Nowy Styl Group has seven product brands, offering a wide range of solutions for all office spaces and public use locations. Part of the products have been created to meet the needs of individual clients, who are supplied through a network of distributors. The majority of brands, however, are offered to professional customers, such as: companies fitting out their offices, investors in public buildings such as schools, auditoria, recreational and sports facilities. The ‘Nowy Styl’ brand is the oldest, and includes the largest collection in Europe of office and café-style chairs for any type of interior, both private as well as public. ‘BN Office Solution’ is a comprehensive brand, consisting of office and workspace furniture conceived by the best designers. ‘Grammer Office’, in turn, is a collection of office chairs with globally patented mechanisms created by the German experts GLIDE-TEC. ‘Rohde & Grahl’ offers a wide range of technologically-advanced German office furniture and office chairs with Duo Back. ‘SITAG’ is the newest brand in the group’s portfolio, consisting of a comprehensive offer of office chairs and furniture, sofas and reception counters. ‘Forum Seating’ is a collection of auditorium, cinema and stadium chairs, as well as telescopic arena seating; and, last but not least, ‘Baltic Wood’ is a stylish brand of excellent quality triple-layer and solid wooden floors.

Innovative solutions

Product development is a vital component of the Nowy Styl Group’s activities and its office furniture factory in Jasło enables it to easily introduce new products; it is also effective in short-series manufactur-

BEPOLPLAST I Sp.J.

One of the winners of the ‘Supplier of the Year’ title, awarded each year by Nowy Styl Group, BEPOLPLAST I Sp.J has been delivering precise, aesthetically pleasing and high quality components for 20 years. The company specialises in the serial production of plastic technical components and the design and production of injection moulds. Its many years of experience, individual approach to clients and ability to respond to challenges has resulted in long-term cooperations with companies from many sectors, including furniture production, automotive, construction and sporting equipment. Its wide product portfolio includes, amongst other things: closing elements and masking metal profiles, tire nests, dinghies, bricks, bumpers, supports, sleeves, handles, inserts, hooks, plugs and stoppers. A large percentage of production is made up of screws and knobs for chairs in various shapes and colours, made by over-moulding metal elements with plastic. The company is currently in the process of implementing technology for the production of dual-component plastics. Thanks to its modern machine park, qualified staff and state-of-the-art IT system, BEPOLPLAST I Sp.J. offers the highest quality products with rapid delivery times.

ing, allowing it to adjust in accordance with individual orders. A recent result of this has been an introduction of two new furniture lines: the first one, SOHO – small office, home office – is a line of professional and ergonomic products, designed for home office spaces; the second, Play&Work, is a system of furniture created for modern offices, with a light and clear design template.

“We are also in the process of patenting a solution for auditoria which will have a differentiated use,” explains Ms Szastok. “Alongside our work with the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre in Toruń, we have designed a mobile module arena. This solution allows any layout of the arena to be arranged, as well as its complete disassembly. The system is simple to install and can be easily stored.”

Working with excellent suppliers

The Nowy Styl Group cooperates with over 1000 suppliers and the best of these are awarded every year with the ‘Supplier of the Year’ title. “We choose those who are characterised by a high level of engagement, the highest quality of services and a professional approach to solving problems,” explains Ms Szastok. Winners of the title include the company Brado SA, which has cooperated with the Nowy Styl Group for over 20 years. It offers the group comprehensive module solutions alongside a wide-ranging assortment, such as bases, elbow supports, plastic components for seats and backs, as well as various plastic and metal accessories essential for manufacturing the company’s chairs. Another vital supplier is Model Opakowania Ltd, which for 16 years has been supplying high quality, innovative packaging solutions made from solid and corrugated cardboard, essential for transporting products. Furthermore, Donati SPA is an important producer of mechanisms, bases and components of chairs. Mentor SA is an insurance broker, while Pfleiderer is a manufacturer of wood-derivative products and a supplier of furniture boards, HPL laminates and artificial veneers.

Ongoing expansion

The group is actively pursuing the possibility of expansion through the acquisition of other brands and companies. Of course, the priority is on markets where it has its own distribution, such as Germany, France or the UK. It is currently engaged in many talks, researching the market and looking out for subsequent acquisitions which will allow it to strengthen its position on the map of Europe. “We also want to use our newest production infrastructure to the best,” adds Ms Szastok. “The group is currently preparing for a number of R&D projects, which we plan to carry out with the support of EU funding.”

The most recent project supported by EU funding was completed earlier this year, in the framework of the ‘Innovative Economy Operational Programme 2007–2013. It focused on innovative technologies in the furniture industry, namely the construction of the new manufacturing facility Nowy Styl Ltd and introduction of innovative products on the European market. The project was worth PLN 119 million – with the European Fund for Regional Development contributing PLN 34 million – and saw the construction of one of the most modern factories for office furniture in Europe, as well as the introduction of the SOHO furniture system. The project was awarded with the title of the ‘Innovative Project of the Year’ from the Polish Agency for Entrepreneurial Development and won the main prize at the ‘Polish Project Excellent Award’ for its management.

“The new projects will be important to our organic growth and we expect to achieve stable, double-digit sales growth every year,” concludes Ms Szastok. “In addition, through ongoing acquisitions, we can improve this result even further.” n