Founded in Eimbeckhausen near Bad Münder in 1907, Wilkhahn now has a staff of some 500 throughout the world, 370 of whom are employed at headquarters in Lower Saxony. International subsidiary companies, production facilities in Spain and Australia, international specialist dealers and licence partners (USA, South Africa, Japan) account for more than 60% of total sales (2005: consolidated EUR 68 million). Wilkhahn is thus represented in all developed economies and on all continents. Last year, the company posted a 7.5% increase in sales against the previous year in spite of a continuously difficult situation in the industry.

Top of the international league: the cover picture of the new Wilkhahn Catalogue shows a project that has been carried out by Shimzu Corporation and FIELD FOUR DESIGN OFFICE.

Continuity, coherence and consistency
Since the 1950s, Wilkhahn has translated the design principles of Modernism, upon which the Deutscher Werkbund, Bauhaus and the Ulm Academy of Design had a formative influence, into up-to-date furniture ranges. This allows the company to continue to set new global standards for furnishing conference interiors, offices and areas for relaxation.

Modern, inspirational and enduring: the introductory page for the section on conference furniture - a segment in which Wilkhahn is regarded globally as the company that gives new impetus and is leading in terms of innovation.

Customers include leading companies in the insurance and financial sector, consultants, accountants and law firms operating on an internationally level, numerous top brands from all branches of industry and private lovers of design throughout the world. The downside of this success is that an increasing number of me-too products come out that are closely linked to Wilkhahn originals.

Focusing on value-added
With a view to making the differences between "imitating" and "understanding" clear even to non-experts, a new "magazine concept" has been developed in collaboration with Rainer Schilling from Hanover, internationally acclaimed design consultant and communication designer. Schilling, who was responsible for the corporate identity of the World Exposition EXPO 2000 and brand imaging of Joop! and German Wings, to mention just a few, has been working together with Wilkhahn for five years now.

Application examples alternate with focus on product details which underline the contrast to me-too products.

The Catalogue shows 80 pages of Wilkhahn solutions for high-quality conference configurations, office environments and relaxation areas. Specific Wilkhahn quality aspects and their value-added are conveyed using large-scale, unusual perspectives and succinct texts - partly in a project setting, partly with close-ups of products. This surprising "visual journey" is rounded off by an overview of all product brochures, an index with alphabetically listed product ranges to facilitate orientation within the Catalogue and information regarding Wilkhahn representative offices around the world.

Visualization of the specific Wilkhahn approach to design, innovation and quality with large-scale close-ups.

Director Holger Jahnke, responsible for Wilkhahn Marketing and Global Sales, is very pleased that "with Wilkhahn, we create value-added in which our customers are willing to invest. The new Wilkhahn Magazine will assist all those who rank the intrinsic value of their furniture highly to recognize this value-added and to communicate the same."

The Wilkhahn Catalogue 06/07 is printed on FSC-certified paper and available in German, English, French, Dutch and Spanish for a nominal charge of EUR 8 (info@wilkhahn.de).

For further information, image material and a press copy of the Catalogue, please contact:

Wilkhahn
Wilkening + Hahne GmbH+Co.KG
Press + Public Relations
Fritz-Hahne-Straße 8
31848 Bad Münder
Germany
Phone: ++49 (5042) 999-169
Fax: ++49 (5042) 999-450
burkhard.remmers@wilkhahn.de