50 years SieMatic Brand – 50 years Handle-Free Kitchen: At this year’s 50th anniversary, this manufacturer of premium kitchens demonstrates its leadership most convincingly.
Löhne, April 2010. It might sound simple and yet it started a revolution: a kitchen without handles. “Something is perfect not because there is nothing to add, but because there is nothing more reduce”. In the last 50 years, no kitchen manufacturer has perfected this design philosophy more than SieMatic Möbelwerke. “Just as the button does not make a coat, the handle does not define the design of a kitchen”, asserts Ulrich W. Siekmann, managing partner of this Premium Kitchen Manufacturer.
Just how closely the success story of the SieMatic Brand is related to the development of handle free fronts for kitchens is best demonstrated by looking back to the year 1960: then, the first kitchen that Siekmann Möbelwerke presented under the Brand “SieMatic”, also was the world’s first Handle Free Kitchen. Celebrated as a design revolution, the Handle Free Kitchen with the characteristic look of the continuing grip-channel, it soon became the most coveted kitchen of its time – and with that the new standard for many. Says Mr. Siekmann:” over the years, we have continued to further develop the grip-channel and SieMatic was the first to integrate it into the cabinet fronts. Today it has reached a degree of visual and ergonomic perfection that stands alone.“ The secret lays in the quality of the design and of the precision-machining of the grip-channel.
Since 1960, SieMatic has consistently reinvented the Handle Free Kitchen: first with the SieMatic SL in the 1980s, then with the first re-launch of the legendary SieMatic 6006 in 2002, and continuing with the current SieMatic S1, S2 and SieMatic 66, and now the remake of the SieMatic 6006.
The legendary 6006 is “the” SieMatic per se. Its minimalist esthetics has gained broadest acceptance as it reflects the current, international trend to forgo all that is not necessary. Instead, most people focus on real values: function, material, precision, innovation, and sustainability, as well as personalized design and planning – from the individual layout of the kitchen to the internal systems available for the interior of the cabinets. With all this SieMatic has been the industry leader, even back in 1960. “People who basically have everything they need desire products that are relevant and have a personality, so one can relate to them per-sonally” says Mr. Siekmann. That is exactly what one gets with a SieMatic 6006, which is presented in the ever popular “retro-design”.
Quality, Design and Function – preferring the best
With the presentation of the first SieMatic in 1960 this manufacturer of premium kitchens was also one of the pioneers of Brand Name Kitchens. To no surprise the SieMatic Brand today is still the strongest kitchen brand in Germany: 70% of all Germans are aware of it!
The company is reinforcing its claim to leadership in Quality, Design and Function by consistently developing new products and improving existing ones. The focus during the last 50 years was not only on the important, major design innovations, but also on continuing the development of the “small” functional engineering details. Thus, there have been many SieMatic innovations that in time became standard: from the guaranty for true dimensional stability and fit, to the Adjustable Shelving System for variable space utilization, as well as the all-round dust seal for doors, drawers and pull-outs.
In addition to constant innovation, at SieMatic individuality has always played an important role: All programs – whether classic, modern, compact, or minimalist purist – offers the most flexibility and range for individualized planning. Already at the first conceptual review the total interior space is included into the planning. Thus, with every new kitchen plan an Interior Design concept is developed that extends well beyond the kitchen. “What inspires us in what we do is a true passion for the Lifestyle Kitchen. At SieMatic the owner himself is constantly concerned about what the kitchen means to a customer on a personal level” states Mr. Siekmann. For him the virtues that are most true for family owned companies are important: Trust and Dependability, Sustainability and Continuity. “With all we do we are guided by the credo that my Grandfather had lived by: Preferring the Best.”
In future, what kitchens will make history?
This shall continue to drive the SieMatic Brand forward – as much as the continuing effort to make history, making kitchens. Already have “Mega Trends” like individualization, professionalization, emotionalization, and mobility, permeated even – or even in particular – the design of kitchens. The kitchen is not any longer just a place to cook, but has advanced to being a place to meet: still a place to cook, prepare and enjoy a meal, but also to communicate, and live in comfort and company with family and friends. According to the internationally renowned Lifestyle Researcher Harry Gatterer “the traditional family home is going through a transition towards an entertainment center.” The family home is becoming a stage for the individual self, and a center for personal enjoyment.
The two latest new product developments – SieMatic S1 and S2 – are especially designed to accommodate this new trend in life-style. Says Mr. Siekmann “we do understand – and come to think about it we always did understand – that creating the environment for life at home is a reflection as much as an expression of one’s personality, desires and needs. That is really nothing new. Starting point for this new trend in lifestyle, perhaps even the originator of it, has been the kitchen.” SieMatic has been – and continues to be – very much aware of this fundamental understanding and recognizes that as part of this new lifestyle the home is being more and more professionalized, and the SieMatic S1 and S2 integrates high-tech components such as TV, CD, DVD, radio, internet, and iPod Docking Station with Hi-Fi audio. However, all the technical advances are meant to do only one thing: enhance and improve the life of the user. “That is what has always guided us and always will when we develop and improve our kitchens” says Mr. Siekmann. That is also what makes for good design – and good design is – as we know – timeless.
Löhne, April 2010. It might sound simple and yet it started a revolution: a kitchen without handles. “Something is perfect not because there is nothing to add, but because there is nothing more reduce”. In the last 50 years, no kitchen manufacturer has perfected this design philosophy more than SieMatic Möbelwerke. “Just as the button does not make a coat, the handle does not define the design of a kitchen”, asserts Ulrich W. Siekmann, managing partner of this Premium Kitchen Manufacturer.
Just how closely the success story of the SieMatic Brand is related to the development of handle free fronts for kitchens is best demonstrated by looking back to the year 1960: then, the first kitchen that Siekmann Möbelwerke presented under the Brand “SieMatic”, also was the world’s first Handle Free Kitchen. Celebrated as a design revolution, the Handle Free Kitchen with the characteristic look of the continuing grip-channel, it soon became the most coveted kitchen of its time – and with that the new standard for many. Says Mr. Siekmann:” over the years, we have continued to further develop the grip-channel and SieMatic was the first to integrate it into the cabinet fronts. Today it has reached a degree of visual and ergonomic perfection that stands alone.“ The secret lays in the quality of the design and of the precision-machining of the grip-channel.
Since 1960, SieMatic has consistently reinvented the Handle Free Kitchen: first with the SieMatic SL in the 1980s, then with the first re-launch of the legendary SieMatic 6006 in 2002, and continuing with the current SieMatic S1, S2 and SieMatic 66, and now the remake of the SieMatic 6006.
The legendary 6006 is “the” SieMatic per se. Its minimalist esthetics has gained broadest acceptance as it reflects the current, international trend to forgo all that is not necessary. Instead, most people focus on real values: function, material, precision, innovation, and sustainability, as well as personalized design and planning – from the individual layout of the kitchen to the internal systems available for the interior of the cabinets. With all this SieMatic has been the industry leader, even back in 1960. “People who basically have everything they need desire products that are relevant and have a personality, so one can relate to them per-sonally” says Mr. Siekmann. That is exactly what one gets with a SieMatic 6006, which is presented in the ever popular “retro-design”.
Quality, Design and Function – preferring the best
With the presentation of the first SieMatic in 1960 this manufacturer of premium kitchens was also one of the pioneers of Brand Name Kitchens. To no surprise the SieMatic Brand today is still the strongest kitchen brand in Germany: 70% of all Germans are aware of it!
The company is reinforcing its claim to leadership in Quality, Design and Function by consistently developing new products and improving existing ones. The focus during the last 50 years was not only on the important, major design innovations, but also on continuing the development of the “small” functional engineering details. Thus, there have been many SieMatic innovations that in time became standard: from the guaranty for true dimensional stability and fit, to the Adjustable Shelving System for variable space utilization, as well as the all-round dust seal for doors, drawers and pull-outs.
In addition to constant innovation, at SieMatic individuality has always played an important role: All programs – whether classic, modern, compact, or minimalist purist – offers the most flexibility and range for individualized planning. Already at the first conceptual review the total interior space is included into the planning. Thus, with every new kitchen plan an Interior Design concept is developed that extends well beyond the kitchen. “What inspires us in what we do is a true passion for the Lifestyle Kitchen. At SieMatic the owner himself is constantly concerned about what the kitchen means to a customer on a personal level” states Mr. Siekmann. For him the virtues that are most true for family owned companies are important: Trust and Dependability, Sustainability and Continuity. “With all we do we are guided by the credo that my Grandfather had lived by: Preferring the Best.”
In future, what kitchens will make history?
This shall continue to drive the SieMatic Brand forward – as much as the continuing effort to make history, making kitchens. Already have “Mega Trends” like individualization, professionalization, emotionalization, and mobility, permeated even – or even in particular – the design of kitchens. The kitchen is not any longer just a place to cook, but has advanced to being a place to meet: still a place to cook, prepare and enjoy a meal, but also to communicate, and live in comfort and company with family and friends. According to the internationally renowned Lifestyle Researcher Harry Gatterer “the traditional family home is going through a transition towards an entertainment center.” The family home is becoming a stage for the individual self, and a center for personal enjoyment.
The two latest new product developments – SieMatic S1 and S2 – are especially designed to accommodate this new trend in life-style. Says Mr. Siekmann “we do understand – and come to think about it we always did understand – that creating the environment for life at home is a reflection as much as an expression of one’s personality, desires and needs. That is really nothing new. Starting point for this new trend in lifestyle, perhaps even the originator of it, has been the kitchen.” SieMatic has been – and continues to be – very much aware of this fundamental understanding and recognizes that as part of this new lifestyle the home is being more and more professionalized, and the SieMatic S1 and S2 integrates high-tech components such as TV, CD, DVD, radio, internet, and iPod Docking Station with Hi-Fi audio. However, all the technical advances are meant to do only one thing: enhance and improve the life of the user. “That is what has always guided us and always will when we develop and improve our kitchens” says Mr. Siekmann. That is also what makes for good design – and good design is – as we know – timeless.