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Headquartered in Sykkylven , on the west coast of Norway , the company designs and manufactures furniture products that are marketed under the brand names Stressless , Svane and IMG . Stressless is one of the world ’ s most wellknown furniture brands , while Svane is most famous in Norway . IMG is marketed mainly in the USA and Australia .

Lars Wittemann , SVP Sourcing and Supply Chain shares more details about the Norwegian furniture manufacturer .

Good protective packaging is vital for maintaining the quality of Ekornes furniture . For three decades Vartdal Plast and Ekornes have been working closely together to make sure that the packaging is tailor made to protect the furniture during transport and handling .

Since 2021 all packaging supplied to Ekornes is made from Ccycled™ , an EPS raw material derived from 100 % recycled post consumer plastic waste . The result is a pacakging with reduced carbon foot print without any compromise when it comes the quality of the packaging .

This initiative underpins both companies ’ desire to lead the change towards more sustainable solutions .

PERFECT INSULATION

HIGH STRENGTH TO WEIGHT RATIO

www . vartdalplast . no

EASY TO RECYCLE

EPS

- expandable polystyrene consists of 98 % air and only 2 % plastic . This gives the protective packaging supplied to Ekornes many benefits .

“ IMG is a discovery brand and mainly in the white label product market , providing affordable comfort with good support . Stressless , on the other hand , is our premium consumer brand that is recognized and loved by millions of people . The Stressless product range includes an extensive collection of recliners and sofas , as well as dining room and office chairs . Every piece is crafted with focus on delivering high quality products .”

“ In our factories , we focus on component production as well as furniture manufacturing , assembly , and retail distribution ,” continues Jan Robert Lyngvaer , Logistics Director . “ Lars ’ team and my own work closely in terms of sourcing raw materials . The processes are highly integrated and we ’ re able to take good control of the manufacturing value chain . Ekornes is in a very good position in the market , especially in terms of our supplies of leather and textiles . We have worked with a core base of high-quality suppliers for several generations and have developed close relationships over the years . We have a good reputation , both as a customer and a vendor , and people are keen to work with us .”

Branching out into dining room products seemed like a natural progression for the organization and it has added complementary products to its existing portfolio . “ We can offer the same color schemes and design elements for both living and dining spaces ,” Jan continues . “ This category has been very successful both in Central Europe and in the Nordics . We have also seen sales volume in this line picking up well in the UK . The Scandinavian style together with unparalleled comfort is proving very popular and lends itself well to the dining category .”

“ Comfort is a key differentiator for us ,” Lars adds . “ The dining chairs boast a recline function , which is a key selling point .” In

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