Office culture: Orgatec 2019

Just in time for this year’s Orgatec (23-27 October), Steelcase has announced that it has acquired Orangebox Group Limited, a UK-based designer and manufacturer of furniture for the changing workplace, the latest in a rapid expansion of innovative products designed for the new ways people work.

This acquisition provides growth-driven organizations around the world with an even broader range of unique furniture designed to boost collaboration at work and provides Steelcase with an engine to accelerate innovative product development in Europe and around the world.

This is a timely complement to Orgatec’s theme this year: “culture@work”. Using this notion as a guide, the fair will present visionary concepts for the whole world of work. It’s Orgatec’s stance that it is only through a culture that promotes diversity, collaborative partnerships, motivation and trust that we are inspired to work creatively and our ideas are allowed to flourish.

‘We saw how Orangebox approached the changing landscape at work and their early recognition that more people want alternatives to the traditional desk, and to work in a range of postures,’ said Allan Smith, vice president, global marketing at Steelcase. “They understood people’s need for balance between privacy at work, and the shift toward high-performance team work. We are really excited about bringing our portfolios together, and we see the opportunity to more than double the size of Orangebox’s business within five years by leveraging Steelcase’s global scale and distribution’/

Born in 2002, in the village of Hengoed, South Wales, Orangebox created a concept they call “Smartworking” – solutions designed to foster collaboration and change cultures, while improving efficiency. The company’s portfolio offers a pluralism of design choices and diverse functions with high-performance alternatives to traditional seating, patented architectural pods for visual and acoustical privacy solutions and highly productive collaboration settings — all based on a deep study of how people need to be oriented toward technology and one another. Orangebox will operate as an independent subsidiary under its own brand and continue to support its existing dealers as well as Steelcase dealers.

Following significant growth across the Middle East over the past five years, Orangebox opened their first dedicated showroom outside of the UK in Dubai earlier this year. The contemporary Smartworks showroom presents a multitude of work settings, not only to showcase the company’s product portfolio, but also to allow their clients to use those settings productively, if needed.

‘Our products enable organizations to work in new, more collaborative ways and can help transform both the culture and efficiency of the organization,’ said Mino Vernaschi, Managing Director of Orangebox. ‘My dream was for Orangebox to become a worldwide brand, with Steelcase this will now happen. Our cultures are so similar and we’re excited about becoming part of the Steelcase family’.

www.steelcase.com / www.orgatec.com