Danish Teak Wood Furniture You do not have to compromise on quality to produce Danish design furniture in Thailand. At least not if you ask the two Danish manufacturers of teak design furniture Koefoed and Kircodan. For a number of years they have had their furniture produced at OK Wood in Bangkok. By Charlotte Lund Dideriksen
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hen speaking of Danish design furniture, it is hard to avoid chairs, sideboards and tables made of teak wood. The golden-brown hard wood has in many ways become synonymous with world-famous furniture classics from design-gurus like Fritz Hansen in the city of Hillerød north of Copenhagen. But times are changing and today a great deal of Danish furniture is Made in Thailand. Danish manufacturers need a convenient location close to the raw material, the trees which fill up many plantations in Thailand, low production costs, strict enforcement of intellectual copyrights and especially a reliable local partner, who understands the philosophy behind Danish Design. Danish teak furniture companies Kircodan Funiture A/S and Koefoed Danmark Aps says that all this is exactly what Thailand has to offer. ”Because of the current Danish production cost level, it is today absolutely necessary to establish production abroad. It is impossible to produce at competitive prices in Denmark, but out here you can,” says Jes Kirkegaard of Kircodan. “Compared to the surround-
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The Thai-made teak design is a hit on both the north-European and Japanese marked
wooden furniture, the interest from Japan is impressive. Actually, some me of the Danish classics are e more popular over there, than they are in Denmark. k. Japanese trends are also quite influential on the rest of East Asia, so it is a market with a great potential,” Peter Koefoed d ads.
A classic - Peter Koefoed doesn’t think that furniture made of teak ever goes out of style ing countries in South East Asia, Thailand is far ahead when it comes to quality and anti-copying laws,” he ads.
Goodbye to the dusty image
Understanding Danish Design
But there is no easy way to a success in Thailand. If the quality of furniture produced in South East Asia must live up to the Danish standards it is absolutely necessary to find the right local producer, according to the two Danish companies. “Of course it has taken a fair bit of research to find the right local partner, a partner who would understand our high standards of quality. Our buyers are very keen on quality, so it is of great importance not to compromise, just because you move the production to Asia,” Jes Kirkegaard explains. Both of the producers get their furniture produced at the Thai furniture factory OK Wood in Bangkok, and in Kircodan’s case the partnership has lasted for three decades, as it can be dated back to 1987. “We started our Thai production at OK Wood and have great confidence in each other. This is very important when you live on different continents. We are very satisfied with the partnership and Thanun Oukomul, who is the manager of OK Woods, is by the way a big fan of Danish Design himself,” says Jes Kirkegaard. Although the sense of the importance of punctuality differs between Denmark and Thailand, both the Danish pro-
Even though the heritage from the Danish design from the 1950 is quite present, it does not mean, that furniture made of teak has not developed itself into the new millennium. For instance the two firms now combine wood with other material such as glass and steel to reach out to the younger audience. “Today people are much busier than before, so not everyone has the time to oil and maintain their furniture. So today we compliment with HDF and
Compared to the surrounding countries in South East Asia, Thailand is far ahead when it comes to quality and anti-copying laws.
Japanese like Danish teak “We have a great cooperation, probably because we share the love for Danish Design” Jes Kirkegaard and Thanun Oukomul has been working together in more than 20 years ducers are happy with the Thai engagement. “We have actually had surprisingly few problems related to moving our production from Denmark to OK Wood. Even though Thais sometimes has a
looser approach towards deadlines than Scandinavians do, I am convinced that we have found the right business partner,” says Peter Koefoed, who has been working together with OK Wood since 2004.
Thanun Ounkomol is definitely not the only non-Dane, who likes modern Danish teak furniture. The two Danish companies offered international furniture-design for South East Asian buyers at a major trade exhibition in Bangkok in March 2009. Their 35.000 square metres stand at Thailand International Furniture Fair was very popular espe-
plastic materials, which have a ten year guarantee without requiring any maintaining,” Jes Kirkegaard says. But that does not mean that the golden brown type of wood is about to retire. “I don’t think that teak will ever go out of style, numerous times throughout history the materiel has been reinvented in new shapes, and to many people, there is a timeless quality to it. With the present economic downturn people have a tendency to choose long-term classics like teak over momentary trends,” Peter Koefoed says.
cially among the Japanese and Middle Eastern furniture stores. Today Koefoed and Kircodan furniture is primarily sold on the north American, German and Scandinavian market, but in recent years they have experienced an increasing demand from Asia, especially Japan. “The Japanese are very interested in our products, the simplicity of Scandinavian design fits very well with the Japanese traditions, in that perspective it is a great logistic advantage for us, that we have the production in Thailand,” says Peter Koefoed. Today the two Danish furniture-producers have a common agent in Japan to represent their Danish teak wood furniture on the lucrative and trendsetting Japanese marked. “When it comes to Danish May/June 2009
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