Kettal Collection
Alex Alorda
Kettal Bob
Prototipo P.Urquiola con un exclusivo tejido trenzado Nido
Kettal Landscape
Kettal Maia
Kettal Maia
Pasquins
Landscape armchair (indoor-outdoor)
Kettal Collection
Alex Alorda
Kettal Bob
Prototipo P.Urquiola con un exclusivo tejido trenzado Nido
Kettal Landscape
Kettal Maia
Kettal Maia
Pasquins
Landscape armchair (indoor-outdoor)
The globally ambitious company Kettal was founded in 1964. The idea of setting it up came to Manuel Alorda, who’s married to a Dutch woman, when he noticed once on a trip to Germany that there was hardly any outdoor furniture available on the Spanish market. Today, 47 years later, the Kettal group (Kettal acquired the brands Hugonet, Triconfort and Evolutif in 2000), is one of the most internationally renowned companies in its sector.
A milestone in the company’s history was the launch in 2005 of Kettal’s Maia collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola. Its runaway success garnered the company international recognition and prestige.
Many other tales of success have followed this one. Recent triumphs for Kettal have included winning the Wallpaper* 2011 prize for its Bob armchair and Premio Nacional de Diseño (Spain’s National Design Awards prize), organised by Spain’s ministry of Science and Innovation.
Kettal’s ambitions aren’t limited to launching gorgeous pieces: with each new collection, it also strives to discover and deploy new materials and finishes, while remaining true to its central philosophy of caring for the environment by using ecologically sound paints and wood from managed forests.
To find out more about the company, we interviewed Alex Alorda, its founder’s son and its current vice-president.
Interiors From Spain: In under 50 years, Kettal has become one of Europe’s main companies making outdoor furniture. What do you think has been the key to your success?
Kettal: The main thing for us is to make sure our clients are satisfied. The key to our success lies in hard work, enthusiasm, sensitivity and the application of a great deal of common sense. The most important thing for us to aim towards is to be the best company in terms of what we do, not the biggest.
IFS: Traditionally your company has employed in-house designers to develop your products and it’s only in recent years that you’ve begun to collaborate with external designers. What brought about this change? And what have these external designers contributed to the company?
Kettal: About six years ago, we witnessed a generational shift in opinion which led to a period of change and a revitalisation of the brand. We began by commissioning Patricia Urquiola who created a collection for Kettal. With her Maia collection, she reinvented the look of outdoor furniture thanks to her idea of interweaving materials in a way that gives her designs a unique, dynamic character as well as rendering them very 3D. Without a doubt, Patricia has brought something new to our portfolio by ushering in an exciting new phase in the evolution of outdoor furniture. On the back of this, we’ve begun commissioning work by high-profile Spanish and internationally known designers, such as Marcel Wanders, Emiliana Design Estudio, Hella Jongerius and Rodolfo Dordoni. It’s very important for us that the designers we collaborate with share the company’s values, and that their style corresponds with the brief for the new collection in question. The fact that we received the 2010 Premio Nacional de Diseño is an acknowledgment which confirms that we’re taking the right approach.
IFS: One of the main ways in which Kettal has expanded internationally has been to open its own shops in Paris, Miami, Antwerp, Cannes, London and Guangzhou in China. What value do you attach to this strategy?
Kettal: The opening of our own shops allows us to get to know our end users’ tastes intimately. This is invaluable to us when we develop collections which are more tailored to our clients’ needs. Furthermore, our shops create a space devoted exclusively to displaying garden furniture, and offer a personal consultancy service.
IFS: Can you tell us about your most recent collections just launched in Milan?
Kettal: At Milan, we unveiled new collections by Rodolfo Dordoni and Hella Jongerius. Our Bitta collection, created by Dordoni, comprises a mixture of aluminium frames and chairs incorporating woven polyester cords. The designer’s intention was to weave the cord densely but not so tightly that it can’t ‘breathe’. The designers’ intention is to evoke the bollards which boats are moored to with ropes, and to use neutral colours since these have a soothing effect. Meanwhile, Jongerius’s Bob collection is a reinterpretation of the classic garden club chair. Its seat is made of soft, voluminous ribbed upholstery, highlighted with visible stitching, while twisted cord was used on the.At Milan, we showed a limited-edition Bob armchair in new colourways. We also showed a sneak preview of a new collection by Patricia which will be fully unveiled in September.
IFS: What are the main challenges your company faces today?
Kettal: To be able to continue managing the projects we like and to consolidate our brand’s identity, while constantly creating products which harmonise with each other, which offer real value to our customers – and which we’ll be proud of in years to come.
Creating green spaces all over the world.
Personal, honest products that improve our environment.
Last year, the University of Montevideo opened its new School of Engineering (FIUM). The interior design project for this spacious and modern building was carried out by the Uruguayan studio Dovat Arquitectos, and the Enea furniture that furnished it was supplied by the Spanish company's distributor in Uruguay.
This School is located in the LATU (Technological Laboratory of Uruguay) technological park and has 2920m2 of space over three floors. The spacious waiting, café, and outdoor areas were decorated with Enea's designer furniture.
The KUBIKA bench designed by Estudi Manel Molina was selected to adorn the School’s waiting areas. Thanks to its modular seating with or without backrests, it allows infinite configurations so that students can work in groups or take a final look at their notes. The polypropylene OH! armchair created by Gabriel Teixidó and the COMA 4L stool, designed by Lluscà Design, were also used in this space.
In the same area, professors can meet and work as a team in a functional environment thanks to the LTS System table with wooden legs and the NOA chair by Estudi Manel Molina, with an upholstered seat pad for greater comfort. In addition, the OH! PATIN armchair with front upholstery for more comfortable seating, is for those more personal moments to finish planning a lesson or simply escape until the next class.
The café features the NOA stool, a mustard-colored polypropylene seat and backrest that brings comfort and style to a space where you can have a snack before the next class or a mid-morning coffee to recharge your batteries.
And on the building's terrace, we find the STREET chair with armrests by Estudi Manel Molina along with the LOTTUS AL table created by Lievore Altherr Molina, which come together in a pleasant environment where you can relax after a long day of studying, rest after a tough exam, or share a meal with classmates, weather permitting.