Classic Working Life to take on more Wilkhahn assembly in 2015
The Classic Working Life team has close to 30 years’ experience assembling Wilkhahn products. Each chair is assembled by hand in CWL’s Industria factory according to Wilkhahn’s strict quality guidelines.
A team from Wilkhahn Germany recently paid a visit to Classic Working Life and gave our assembly operations an enthusiastic thumbs-up. On the back of the team’s positive report, Wilkhahn has approved local assembly on a number of new products starting in 2015.
Wilkhahn’s Nico Huenemann, Marcus Nibbert and Alice Behnke spent a week in Gauteng in November, visiting the CWL showroom in Houghton and the factory in Industria, as well as calling on several clients in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
“As the official licence partner for Wilkhahn in southern Africa, we spend a lot of time with our colleagues from Germany, and we always appreciate it when they come to South Africa,” said CWL managing director Gregory Gomes. “Nico is a regular visitor, while Markus and Alice were visiting for the first time.”
For Marcus, who is Wilkhahn’s international technical co-ordinator, the time spent at the CWL factory was enormously gratifying.
“From a technical and quality perspective, we were very impressed by the work being done by Classic Working Life,” he said. “The quality of assembly more than meets our technical specifications.
“It is also encouraging to see the high levels of innovation being employed from a design perspective. We were very impressed by CWL’s flexibility – they are always able to make a plan to ensure clients end up with the exact conferencing and seating solutions to meet their needs.”
CWL general manager Petra Ahrer says she learnt a great deal from the Wilkhahn team while they were in South Africa.
It wasn’t all work and no play when Wilkhahn visited Classic Working Life in November. Marcus Nibbert, Alice Behnke, Petra Ahrer, Gregory Gomes and Nico Huenemann spent a weekend in Mpumalanga and the Kruger National Park getting to know each other while enjoying the South African bushveld. This photo was taken at the Bourke’s Luck Potholes on the Panorama Route.
“It was a huge learning experience for all of us,” she said. “This is the first time a Wilkhahn technical expert has spent time with us in the factory, which was a real honour. Marcus gave us a comprehensive insight into Wilkhahn’s component supply chain, which will help us to provide an even more streamlined service to our clients.”
The Wilkhahn team was so happy with the way operations are being run at CWL that they have approved local assembly on a range of new products in South Africa.
“We’re delighted that Wilkhahn has given us the go-ahead to assemble several new products locally,” said Gregory. “We’re confident that all our clients – corporates and designers – will be excited by the expanded Wilkhahn range when we launch it in early 2015.”
