Nobia moving Hygena production to UK

Nobia is entering negotiations with employees and their associations regarding a relocation of its Hygena brand manufacturing to the UK.
The Hygena products are currently made in Stemwede, Germany, and Nobia also proposes to close the sale and production of kitchens for the German DIY market which also takes place there. It will mean that the Stemwede facility will focus on Nobia's Marlin bathroom furniture business.
It is claimed the Stemwede facility is not competitive enough for the manufacture of these kitchens and the move will enable Nobia to capitalise on its economies of scale, by moving production towards larger, brand-independent factories.
Nobia sells kitchens through 20 brands in Europe, including Magnet and Intuo in the UK, Hygena in France, ewe in Austria and Poggenpohl globally.
The Nobia Group has around 7,400 employees and net sales of around SEK 13 billion.

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Would you Adam and Evie it?

There’s nothing better than seeing kitchens, displayed in their own habitat, to get a full picture of a brand, particularly if they are trying to find a foothold in the UK. And that’s exactly what we did, taking a trip to Ewe (pronounced Evie) new 1,600sq m showroom in Linz, Austria, to see its flagship Intuo brand.

Images hardly do the brand justice. Silky to the touch, black matt glass was shown alongside stylish horizontal woodgrains (shown). And these furniture ranges were joined by booked-matched walnut veneer, which is held in stock for two years should damage occur to the units. Each of the roomsets provided real design inspiration, including concealed wall units, inset stainless storage, and the use of cabinets as room dividers.

But the talking point of the showroom was the Virtual Design Studio, allowing retailers and their customers to try out combinations of door fronts and worktops. This technology allows you to choose the kitchen and worktop on screen, then the computer image is beamed onto furniture blanks to create a genuine 3D kitchen. Of course, this virtual impression doesn't provide textures, but a display stand of samples can help those who need to look and touch their kitchen before purchase. According to Gunter Schwarzlmuller, marketing director of EWE the technology is a world’s first for the kitchen industry and it just could be the future of all retail showroom design, everywhere!

To see a collection of EWE kitchens in the UK, visit the Searle & Taylor Showroom in Hampshire.