About Bene.

In 1790, Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” was performed for the first time, Immanuel Kant published his “Critique of Judgement” and the motto, “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”, was coined during the French revolutionary movement. In the same year, Michael Bene founded his cabinetmaker’s workshop in Waidhofen an der Ybbs. At the time he didn’t know that more than 225 years later, his business would be famous for its fascinating symbiosis of office furniture, space and architecture, design, quality and innovation in over 40 countries across the world. In 1950, the small local cabinetmaker’s workshop started to manufacture office furniture on an industrial scale. After many successful years of trading in Austria, the enterprise went international in the 1980s, establishing branches from London to Dubai .

Bene Headquarter.

Bene’s head office in Waidhofen an der Ybbs is independent of the company’s international presence. Designed by Laurids Ortner, their head office has remained an ambitious statement of modern industrial architecture to this day. Bene’s company headquarters is not only an administration centre, but also a “living laboratory” in which innovative space concepts for offices are tested directly in house.

Vision

A key component of Bene’s entrepreneurial and product philosophy is the combination of design, architecture, form and functionality. The company thinks in categories such as spaces, zones and areas. Since the 1960s, the office has redefined itself as a complex environment that needs to continuously respond to human requirements.

Focussing on success

Over the last years, Bene has received numerous national and international awards, demonstrating the high esteem of their products and the role that Bene plays within the international design community. Prizes include the German Design Award, the iF Design Award and the Red Dot Award.

Focussing on design

Collaboration with a variety of international trend researchers, designers and architects has paved the way for Bene products and continues to have an impact on the company. Particularly important to the success are British design studio PearsonLloyd, EOOS, Bene designers Kai Stania, Christian Horner and Johannes Scherr as well as experts from the Royal College of Art and the Fraunhofer Institute.

Mission

Bene aims to plan and design spaces for people to feel good and enjoy work. The product portfolio must comprise of furniture for all departments and areas of the modern office. Bene develops integrated concepts for clients, that must respond to the changing challenges of the working world.The high standards in functionality, quality and design become tangible in each of Bene's products.

The Bene Factory.

1 The furniture production combines the latest technology with high quality standards and a love of detail. The majority of the products are made in the Bene factory in Waidhofen an der Ybbs in Lower Austria. Industry 4.0 has already arrived there: products are made to order, starting with a batch size of 1, according to the justin-time principle.

2Automation and intelligent data processing ensure that production methods are efficient and flexible. Special customer requests are processed in the on-site development department. The standard products can be adapted to tailor individual customer needs.

3 Craftsmanship still has a role to play alongside highly automated machine production. Bene takes pride in its production site, which includes the manufacture of quality veneers, where furniture is produced and finished by hand to meet the highest quality standards.