STYLEPARK ARPER
Taking the bull by the horns
Italian label Arper, which has been creating design spaces and solutions since 1989, positioned itself as a pioneer early on with a focus on improving people’s quality of life. In 2005, Arper obtained certifications. In light of the global crises of recent years, the family-owned company has since raised the bar a notch higher: "As we say in Italy, we took the bull by the horns," explains Andrea Mulloni at Arper. And Michela Possagno, Arper’s Environmental Expert, adds: “We are changing not only how we act, but also our very concept of what constitutes good design.”
The focus is thus on durable furnishings that go beyond the trends and are designed to fulfil various purposes during their lifecycle. What that means in detail for furniture production is the use of wood from forestry as well as the creation of a modular structure in which even individual parts can be replaced. Likewise, elements of the chairs and armchairs “Aava 02”, “Adell”, “Mixu”, or “Aston Club” are partly made of industrial plastic. “One important project is the matter of renewal and reprocessing. We want to address three major topics: reprocessing, rental models, and return concepts," says Michela Possagno.
To this end, a Europe-wide network is to be developed over the next few years in order to create short channels and exchange knowledge. “We need to reach out to each other to create a movement,” says Possagno. With this in mind, the company has also created the “Arper District”, an internal training program for partner companies, too, to establish common benchmarks within a network of expertise. In this context, the vehicle fleet is also to be completely converted to electric vehicles, including shuttle traffic between the warehouses. Transparency and openness to new ways of doing things are the foundation for the holistic optimization of processes at Arper. "There has to be a direct relationship between customers and manufacturers," says Michela Possagno.
