Orgatec 2008 - Object & Facility Trade Fair, Cologne, Germany

ORGATEC 2008 A report by: ARUN KURUVILLA
Koeln Messe, Koln, Germany 21st Oct -25 th Oct
The fair was centred around two aspects:
1.OFFICE & OBJECT 2. OFFICE & FACILITY
The fair had its focus on Furniture, Lighting, Flooring, Acoustics & also presented Seminars on Facility Management, Best office design awards.
The Orgatec Boulevard had an Architects lounge & a Video Box for screening messages.
This Report focuses exclusively focuses on Seating Business Portfolio.

EXHIBITORS:
Mostly european exhibitors with a small spattering of Asian ( Japanese & Chinese) maufacturers displayed the chairs.
KEY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS OF SEATING were:
1. HERMAN MILLER,
2. INTERSTUHL
3. VITRA
4. RHODE GRAHL
5. KOKUYO
6. HAG
7. DAUPHIN
8. SENATOR
9. ITOKI
10. KLOBBER
Some of the other well known stalls were of:
11. Anji Liangfeng
12. Arredi SPD
13. Benithem
14. Camira Fabrics, UK
15. Euro Seating. Spain
16. Baijiang Seating
17. Lamm, Italy
18. Merryfair.
19. SOKOA
20. Kush & Co
21. Human Scale, UK
22. Connection, UK
23. Weisner Hager, Germany
24. Luxy, Italy
25. Boss, UK
26. Walter Knoll
27. Gabriel Fabrics,Denmark
28. Bene.
29. Wilkahn
30. Wagner – Top Star.


New Launches & Show Stoppers:
1. Company : HERMAN MILLER : Model : EMBODY
The Embody chair was the cynosure of all attention with its integrated spine and wide pan seat and arms.
Embody claims to let your body move. It has a new tilt technology. Embody's rotation points are within the seat and back, and the base of the back remains fixed relative to the seat; this encourages the body to move naturally into the most positive seated postures.

When you lean forward or recline, the lower back support remains constant--no adjustments needed; users of all sizes can easily assume and maintain a reclined position.
The Chair featured a new & unique Seat Length adjustment

The Buzz word from HM was that the embody “Mimics the spine”. The back they claim is "alive," adapting to the shape and movement and automatically adjusts shifting positions and supports people through the full range of working postures.

Though very bulky and not suitable for the Indian market, New Material used gives it a tech/ sci-fi look .The wide angle and spine makes it different and it was marketed very well with personal demonstrators flown in from the US , excellent pre-show publicity and large POP drops from the ceiling ensured high traffic and interest at the stall. Was also displayed in a variety of upholstery colors.


2. Company : INTERSTUHL. Model : SILVER
Interstuhl's Silver chair, designed by architect Hadi Teherani, featured an elegant aluminum build with transparent casters. The controls were integrated into the design, offering ease of operation.

The material intensive and meticulously engineered German chair was also supplemented by a stool that enriches the range. The Silver's conference chairs were also set in an ambiance to display excellence in the work place.

3. Company :VITRA . Model : AC 4.
Vitra showcased its capability of leveraging ground breaking designs through the use of top designers whose work and names were plastered across the stalls. It even had an image gallery showcasing Alberto Meda , Jasper Morrison and Arik Levy.

AC4 chair by Italian design star Antonio Citterio , was the main chair showcased. With its slender profile, AC 4 claims to be a new direction in the development of office and conference chairs.
The Task chair design has a structural sophistication in the backrest, which allows for a flexible range of movement but is visually concealed with meticulous detailing. The backrest is actually divided into three sections with distinct internal functions: The lumbar zone, which supports the lower back, transitions into a flexible zone for the upper back to sink into, followed by a section with stronger support for the shoulders.
The technical features of AC 4 include seat depth adjustment, automatic tilt tension adjustment based on sitter’s weight and a fine-adjustment device. The armrests have height, width adjustability. The conference chair, which does not have a lumbar support zone, is equipped with aluminum ring armrests.

4. Company : RHODE GRAHL. Models : Xenium & Balance.
A chair with two part back rests, the unique xenium and balance follows the movement of the back to both sides. Rhode Grahl claims that due to the two-part backrest the spinal column is supported without exerting pressure on the spine.

5. Company : Kokuyo. Model : 2000 Series.
Kokuyo had unveiled its new chair with air vein technology . The chair was fitted with air cushions that had compressed air which could be released from the lower hip area to the lower lumber area or vice versa. The company’s designer claims that this allows for better blood circulation by adjusting the chair to individual needs of users. The passage of air through vents is internally controllled though a simple knob arrangement . All other advanced features of the task chair such as adjustable locking and seat depth were offered.
This looked the best technology driven chair at the fair. However, the marketing of the chair was poor as the demonstrators were local germans who did not really understand the nuances of its working. The company also showcased several of its other chair offerings under the Agata series.

6. Company : HAG Model : FUTU.
HAG design had the FUTU being showcased. It had a new integrated seat mechanism with slender shape with no protruding levers. The design was minimalistic but trendy and young. The adjustments were rather simple. Futu was light weight and they claimed that the backrest contains no foam apparently to reduce environmental impact. Three different Scandinavian manufacturers were using the HAG platform to market the products including a Swedish company: RH.


Other Innovation & Highlights :
• Human Scale showcased its FREEDOM & LIBERTY chairs. The liberty mesh version was possibly the most aesthetically pleasing chair on display at the whole exhibition. However, The freedom was a more advanced version task chair particularly- its synchronised adjustable arm feature which operates at the press of a small button at the lower part of the arm, This was just awesome. The armrests come from the back of the chair and the Soft touch pads of the arms make the experience even better

• Klober had showcased leather upholstered chairs with fabulous stitching finishes. Their range was classic and elegant & showed high quality and individualized German engineering. Quality was the buzz word for the stall. They had used twin zipper systems which were pristine and went well with the product. They also had the launch of Itera chair

• Connection from UK showcased its IS chair. The Chair looked very much like Lets B from Steelcase and had a highlight of a removable seat and back pad which were clipped on and could be disposed/ re-furbished, when required. The range had a stackable vistor chair and a training room chair along with the task chair.

• Dauphin platform was used by different brands (Zuco, Trend Office,Bosse & Human Design) to market the products. The main chair being showcased was the 4+ chair & Lordo chair. These chairs had an automatic weight based tilt tension mechanism

• Gabriel Fabrics showcased its new Heat treatment Foam Fabrics.

• Bene Showcased the B-Move Chair which had simple adjustments , was sleek and attractive.

• Luxy showcased the Bea Chair which was stripped down and hung on display at the stall. The chair also had 3 push button roll over levers that operated the seat depth, tilt tension and adjustable locking. However, it was difficult to operate the roll over levers.

• There were a few suppliers from east european markets such as PROFI from Poland and from Slovenia and Latvia. These chairs were simpler but were good enough to sell in europe.

• Fabric innovation with nano technology was showcased by Microcare from the Netherlands. Heat Transfer and Acoustical fabrics by Recytex, Germany. There was also a german company that showcased hand movement accessories and usage of Gel in cushioning.

• Meeting Rooms in the form of Isolation areas or bubbles were a new design trend. This was observed in SEDUS, VITRA, WILKAHN, BULO stalls

• SOKOA showcased a new chair TELA. This is the next in range to Sedna. The Tela is available in both cushioned and mesh versions and can come with a self adjucting body weight synchrotilt mechanism

• Colour scheme : Whites mainly combined with Greys & Browns. Stalls and products were combined with touches of Reds, Bright or Olive Greens