A Norwegian-owned family business, Vestre is a leading manufacturer of outdoor furniture for urban environments. Working with a range of Scandinavian designers, the new ‘Folk’ series is designed by the Swedish studio Front and is a truly Scandinavian collaboration: the aluminium profiles are extruded at Hydro’s plant in Magnor, Norway, while the furniture is produced at Vestre’s production facilities in Torsby, Sweden.
“We are proud of partnering with Vestre, whose goal is no less than being the most sustainable outdoor furniture company in the world. Aluminium is a well-suited material for modern and sustainable design and is robust enough to stand all kinds of weather for decades to come,” says Egil Hogna, head of Hydro’s business area Extruded Solutions, former Sapa.
Using only eco-friendly and locally-produced materials and basing all its production renewable energy sources, aluminium has quickly become a favorite in Vestre’s furniture collections:
“Aluminium is the eco-friendly metal. It’s light, robust, and beautiful and can be recycled an infinite number of times. Melting aluminium requires just 5% of the energy needed to produce new aluminium,” says Jan Christian Vestre, CEO of Vestre.
Sustainability starts at the drawing board
Hydro’s experts work closely with Nordic designers and furniture manufacturers in the process from idea to final product – both looking at how the material can be shaped, but also advising on how the product can be disassembled and recycled after its lifetime.
“A products carbon footprint starts at the drawing board. To produce in the most efficient way we need to work together and exchange knowledge across the value chain. Experts – from designers, suppliers and manufacturers must work together to develop products that can easily be taken apart and recycled when they are no longer in use,” says Hogna.
To increase the knowledge about how to use aluminium in the best way, both for the design and the environment, Hydro also supports the Norwegian presence at Milan Design Week in April 2019. A range of designs made in aluminium will be shown to present Nordic, sustainable design to an international audience.
Published: February 20, 2019