Bene History |
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Success Made in Austria. Founded in 1790, Bene started to manufacture office furniture on an industrial level in 1951. Bene has been undisputed market leader in Austria since the early 1970’s. At present the company ranks sixth in Europe’s office furniture industry. Since the 1980's, Bene has embarked on an international strategy of growth: When opening offices in London and Moscow in 1988, Bene took the first step towards successful expansion of its sales network on an international scale. In 1989, the company moved from its previous production site in Zell to its present head office in Waidhofen an der Ybbs (Architect: Laurids Ortner). Between 1995 and 1998, Bene focused on expanding its Sales Net to Central and Eastern Europe and established outlets in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 1998, the Bene group started to develop the German market and incorporated the German retail group Objektform. Bene’s Western European Sales Net was developed between 2000 and 2003. This sales network was expanded with retailers in Benelux and France. During that period, the floor space of the manufacturing site in Waidhofen was extended from 9,000 m² to 40,000 m², followed by further efforts to transform the plant into a state-of-the-art European production site. Investments totalled approximately EUR 22 million. In 2003, Bene established a joint venture in Poland named Bene Nowy Styl S.A. With a new outlet in Dubai, the company is now also represented in the Middle East. 2004 was again marked by international growth: A cooperation agreement was signed with the Japanese office furniture manufacturer KOKUYO CO., LTD, in a first step to open up the Asian market. In addition, Bene's Sales Net was expanded to cover Croatia and Serbia. In August 2004 a financial syndicate led by Unternehmensinvest AG (UIAG) came on board. In 2006, Bene successfully achieved ISO 9001 and 14001 certification. In the same year, Bene was transformed into a joint stock company (AG). Its IPO at the Wiener Börse was followed by the UIAG financial syndicate’s exit from the company. Bene engaged in a strong expansion drive and enlarged its sales network to include Bulgaria, Ukraine, Spain, Ireland and Kuwait. The German TILL Group, an office furniture dealer and former Bene distribution partner, was taken over in November of the same year. In April 2007, Bene acquired his long-term business partner in Belgium. |
