Concept presentation, design proposals, prototype construction, tooling, test and correction phase, pre-series, pilot series, until it’s finally ready for series production – product development at Klöber is a clearly defined process. However, it’s flexible enough to allow a flow of new ideas to be channelled in at any point. Although the detailed solutions seem highly unpredictable at the start, it’s certain that everything will function according to plan by the time it’s all finished, and sitting in the workplace will have been reinvented once more.

Adjustable in height by 10 cm, scaled.

This design award from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology was presented for leading international achievements from the field of product design for the first time in 1969, when it went by the name of "Bundespreis Gute Form". Since 2006, the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany has been awarded annually for outstanding achievements in the areas of product and communication design and for a selected design personality.

The iF label is recognised worldwide as a quality mark for excellent design.

Lumbar support, optional. Provides additional support for the lumbar region.

Constant contact with the pelvis during the entire movement. No "shirtdragging" effect.

The red dot design award is an international design competition that is staged annually, breaking down into the categories of product design and communication design.

An intervertebral disc is a flexible link consisting of fibrocartilage between the vertebrae.

The armrest top is adjustable by 5 cm in depth and by approx. 3 cm in width without tools. The armrest top is made from soft TPU foam with a pleasant soft feel that is gentle to the skin.

The Quality Office guideline defines quality standards for office furnishings in accordance with the latest ergonomic findings.

Counter chairs are intended specifically for use at checkouts, at counters and reception desks in the retail and wholesale sectors, airports, info points, hotels hospitals and banks.

Targets for the sustainability and environmental compatibility of the products are defined in the product development process and the ecological footprint requirements are stipulated as part of the quality assessment. The ecological footprint includes both the recycling rate and an assessment of the energy input.

The “product innovation session” is where sales meets design, where design and development meets market research. Discussion is used to stimulate ideas and impulses for different approaches and develop them further. There might be 1000 ideas to begin with, and of these they pick out 100, and then thrash out the detail for just ten. At the end of the process, two or three specific projects will be left, and they are the ones that are implemented.

The subsequent “kick-off” is managed by an interdisciplinary team of engineers and colleagues from the workshop and prototype build team. The priority is working together to find a solution. For this phase, various 3D models are made up as specified by the designer. You see, the prototypes are created in cooperation with the design department. The Klöber design philosophy is characterised by an intermeshing of form and function. For new mechanisms, operating principles and components Klöber relies on support from specialists – so that products can be developed in-house from the inside outwards, with the consequence that a Klöber is superior in terms of both technology and looks.

At Klöber it usually takes two years from start to finish for a completely new product to become available. During the development phase, components, assemblies and models are constantly passing through the test lab for analysis. This saves time and allows the product design to be optimised on an ongoing basis. As soon as a newly developed chair goes into production, it meets all the legal requirements – for example norms, directives and recommendations – but also in-house standards and specifications.

Next comes what we call the pre-series, which serves as a test run. Employees in different departments are given the new chair to try out so that corrections can be made. The pilot series on the other hand goes outside the company: selected testers, such as dealers, are given the chair to test as well. They work through a checklist to evaluate the chair and more improvements follow. The entire correction phase takes around a year. But after that the chair’s perfect, and mass production can start.