There are few companies that are able to gain international status of producing high quality furniture. Fjords furnitureFjords furniture is one of them. This Norwegian company started as a partnership between two brothers, Mindor and Otto Hjellegjerde.
Like many small companies at the time, Fjords furniture started off based in the cellar of the Hjellegjerde family home in 1941. However, as business grew, the cellar had to be expanded to accommodate the growth in demand for the manufactured products. It was in 1946 that a third Hjellegjerde brother, Ingvald would join the company. This company has since grown into one of the largest furniture manufacturing companies in Norway.
The furniture manufacturing company was originally launched as Hjellegjerde. It gained fame across the country for the high quality furniture it supplied. The designs of the furniture were authentically Norwegian and provided a high level of comfort making them even more attractive to an international market. The brothers, also, ensured that only a high level of craftsmanship was shown in the pieces.
By 1981, the company had established its name in the country and the international community as manufacturers and suppliers of high quality Norwegian furniture. However, this was the year that the company would face one of the worst fires it experienced in its history. More than half the company (4500 square meters) caught fire. This wasn’t the first fire the brothers had faced but was the worst and would have brought the company to its knees was it not for the determination and commitment of the brothers and their employees.
The brothers alongside their employees were able to salvage much of the furniture from the fire. Production picked up one month after the fire and a new factory was completed and opened for production only two years later.
In 2006, the name Hjellegjerde was replaced by Fjords Furniture. The company is now focused on meeting the growing demands of an international market as opposed to producing Norwegian furniture to suit the preferences and tastes of the Norwegian public. It has been the aim of the group to produce products with international and future potential. The company, therefore, underwent restructuring to suit this goal. More than 70% of the furniture produced today is set aside for the international market.
Craftsmanship and quality remain the highest ideals of Fjords furniture. The company has, in this day and age of rapid technological advances, found a way to merge technological advances with the traditional manufacturing practices. While technology ensures that quality of the products is improved greatly, the traditional manufacturing methods that enhance craftsmanship are maintained. Therefore, the creativity and experience of the people working for the company are still used for the manufacture of unique pieces of furniture.
