54
Officelayout 158
luglio-settembre 2014
AZIENDE
COMPANIES
Comfort, high performance, sustainability and excellent design
in a single product: this is the challenge met by Gessner in the
development of the new Climatex Dualcycle collections.
Particular care has gone into the design of the weave done
with high-quality Jacquard techniques, a blend of yarns with
different chromatic tones and personalized designs for
melange versions, contrasting colors and three-dimensional
effects. This development extends application potential to the
residential and contract sectors, where the aesthetic and tactile
qualities of covering fabrics are important features.
Improvements have also been made to performance in terms of
resistance to wear with versions designed for public spaces and
the transport sector. All this, while conserving the comfort of
the seat which is the main objective in the development of
Climatex fabrics, which as the name suggests are capable of
maintaining constant temperature and humidity levels, thanks
to the fact that they breathe. These qualities have led to
success in the office sector, for the creation of seating and
upholstered furnishings made for intensive use.
Behind the evolution of the Climatex fabrics, there are new
corporate strategies and a different approach to the market, as
narrated by
Andreas Heydasch, managing director of
Gessner,
whom we met in the company’s headquarters at
Wädenswil, Switzerland.
Gessner has been active for 175 years, a precious legacy
that has adapted over time to meet new market
challenges. What are the salient aspects of this evolution?
The company was founded with a strong focus on the
production of fabrics for fashion and the home. A
breakthrough happened seven years ago, with the debut of the
Climatex fabrics, that have led Gessner to specialize in
technical products, with investments in research and
production technologies. Today our commitment is to give
form and visibility to the Climatex brand, so it can represent a
tool for our clients to approach international markets and
stand apart from the competition. The goal is to transform
Gessner from a “manufacturing company” to a “brand
company”; this means not only having the technologies to
produce in our Swiss location, but also offering those
technologies under license to other operators in the market. At
the same time, we are structuring to support clients with an
international network that can bring greater visibility with
architecture studios and end users.
Fabric of a thousand faces
New collections enrich the Climatex Dualcycle range of finishing fabrics, with a wide selection of patterns and colors for application in the
office, contract, transportation and the residential market
What role is played by price in a high-performance
product?
Price is an aspect that cannot be overlooked. With this
awareness, in 2012 we have expanded the Climatex range with
the Dualcycle hybrid fabrics, thanks to which we are capable of
offering high-performance products at competitive prices.
There are no extra costs to acquire fabrics that guarantee
comfort and sustainability, but there are remarkable
advantages. The latest goal achieved is that of the “new
Climatex Dualcycle collections,” which bear witness to the
ongoing research effort to obtain new performance levels and
an expansion of the range that makes it possible to interact
with new clients and to respond to the needs of producers,
combining the offering of seating with upholstered furnishings
and fabric wall coverings for lounge areas and collective spaces
in modern offices.
Sustainability and comfort are the earmarks of Climatex
fabrics, proven by the many prizes assigned to them. Are
these characteristics also “prized” by the market?
We have met with great success in the United States, a market
of reference when it comes to aspects of ecology and
sustainability. One example is the partnership with the
Steelcase group, recently announced at NeoCon. The more
evolved European markets are also demonstrating growing
interest in products that reflect the concepts of “cradle to
cradle” design. Gessner is concentrating on these markets to
increase the spread of Climatex fabrics, with distribution
agreements and new partnerships.
What is the value of the Italian market, for you, and what
marketing strategies have you developed?
Italy, together with Germany and southern Europe, represents
a market of primary importance for Gessner, because of the
great potential we can fully address thanks to the new product
lines. In this phase, the efforts concentrate on the search for
partners of reference, whether they are producers of seating,
distributors or dealers. They do not necessarily have to be
large companies, but they must have the right sensibilities,
understanding the philosophy of sustainability that forms the
basis of Climatex fabrics. Our idea, in fact, is not to sell a
product, but to support partners through the communication
to architecture studios and end users of the advantages our
fabrics can bring to finished products.
