From steel to dust, and from dust to wood: Ahrend continues to respond to changing office design requirements

SINT-OEDENRODE - The office of today is a lot different to what it looked like a decade ago. Steel has given way to upholstered furniture and more agile solutions, such as free-standing office booths for making a phone call or having a private chat with a colleague. In recent years, office furnisher Ahrend has been fully committed to making improvements in order to keep up with the ever-changing office requirements.

The changes are clearly visible when visiting Ahrend's showroom in Sint-Oedenrode. Wherever you look, there are corner seats with privacy screens and upholstered booths of different sizes. The company has stopped making steel cabinets. ,,Over the past 10 to 15 years, companies have completely changed their views on what an office interior should offer. This is a direct result of numerous developments, such as as digitisation, increased remote working and sustainability requirements. And we operate in a very competitive market, which is why it's so important that we remain distinctive and relevant”, explains Rolf Verspuij, the top executive of Royal Ahrend which, in addition to Ahrend, also carries the Gispen, Presikhaaf and Techo brands.

Remaining distinctive and relevant did mean that the company had to become more efficient. In recent years, Ahrend has increasingly shifted focus to its core business: furnishing work environments. Verspuij: ,,We kept adding and adding services over the years, such as furnishing in the education, healthcare and business sectors but also showrooms and at one point we even installed lifts and escalators in buildings that had been newly delivered without these provisions. We stopped doing the latter.”

This is reflected in the sales figures of Ahrend in its most recent annual report. Sales amounted to EUR 295 million in 2023, which is almost 8 per cent less than what we achieved in 2022. Back then, sales still exceeded EUR 320 million. ,,It’s due to having terminated a number of non-core activities that we sold less, especially in Central and Eastern Europe", Verspuij adds.

In terms of the overall result, the revisions turned out to be a success. The bottom line is that Ahrend managed to more than double its result. Profit before tax amounted to EUR 7.9 million in 2023, compared to just under EUR 3.8 million in 2022. In addition to scaling down operations, Ahrend has closed a number of factories but has invested in digitisation. This has all contributed to a significant cost reduction.

Furthermore, Ahrend has been able to reduce its material procurement costs as a result of increased efforts in reusing materials. This includes taking back old office furniture and using the materials to build new products. ,,This means that we need fewer new materials in the end.’’ In addition, the company has been refurbishing used office furniture at the Circular Hub in Veghel since 2011.

Prioritising sustainability

It goes without saying that cost savings are essential, but the sustainability factor is just as important to Verspuij. Thus, it is with great pride that he shows off the latest office chair. ,,This is the Remode, our most sustainable chair ever. The chair is very light and almost eighty percent of it is made from recycled materials, such as plastic from the ocean. Moreover, there are numerous fabric colours to choose from and you can easily replace the cover, should you want something different. This prevents you from having to buy new chairs over and over again, and when there’s no more use for it, the chair is 99 per cent recyclable."

Given all these developments, and despite the challenging economic climate, Verspuij expects 2024 to be an even better year for Ahrend. ,,Because of our more efficient operations and a product range that is even more in line with the clients' needs, I think we can continue to increase our success. In other words, I expect this year's result to surpass that of 2023."

In any case, Ahrend plans to incorporate a lot more wood in its furniture in the near future. The company is opening a new factory, the Wood Hub, in Prague by the end of the month. ,,The new factory is much more sustainable than the one we had there previously; the production process has been fully digitised and automated and we can produce products of a higher quality here. So we'll be developing lots of products with warm, wooden elements to be made here in the near future." And yes, the wood used in these products will all be recyclable too, Verspuij promises.