General Information
Quality – first and foremost
Our chairs, sofas and recliners combine innovative industrial design with traditional crafts in a modern, efficient production chain designed to create tailored solutions where the emphasis is on quality, comfort and design.
Modell Møbler is an international innovator in the field of marine furniture. Our DNV-certified furniture is based on sound furniture traditions, modern technology and strict quality requirements, which all contribute heavily towards our reputation on the market. Our investment
in flexible quality solutions enables us to satisfy the specific wishes of our customers.
Focus on passenger comfort
Modell Møbler has been supplying furniture for a number of years for leisure craft, passenger ferries and oil installations. Our largest product group currently consists of passenger seating for express boats and ferries, and we are intensely interested in ensuring that passengers both today and in the future enjoy a pleasant ocean trip with a high degree of comfort.
Quality design and production
Modell Møbler collaborates with skilled architects and industrial designers in order to develop and manufacture marine furniture that has a good reputation on the market. We have qualified, reliable and expert employees working at our production premises on stitching, upholstery and assembly. For furniture which involves the use of wood and metal, we collaborate with recognised subcontractors to ensure optimal solutions and quality.
A good idea created international furniture history
During the middle of the 1950s the predecessor of Modell Møbler, a family company called Sør Camping A/S, developed an entirely new way of manufacturing chairs involving the use of plastic materials. This resulted in “Chair 1001” – a solid mould and the world’s first plastic chair – and an innovative egg-shaped arm chair.
Both examples of modern furniture history are on display at the Norwegian National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.
When the company launched its shell-shaped plastic chairs in 1956 it created quite a sensation and the global patent for the manufacturing method was sold to 46 different countries. The technology and concepts were subsequently adopted by several designers and furniture manufacturers. The most famous example of this is the Danish design icon, the “Egg” chair, dating from 1950 to the 1960s. The fact that the original chair developed by the forerunner to Modell Møbler inspired the world’s most prominent interior architects and furniture designers is something that we choose to take as a compliment. We are proud of the fact that the concept was created and the technology was developed at our company. We shall continue to remain innovative and quality-conscious so that we can create furniture that also has an impact in the future.
Tradition and innovation
Modell Møbler is well-known for its furniture traditions and its innovative solutions that focus on quality and adaptation to suit customers. The company was established in 1958 by Carsten R. Thomassen and it has been manufacturing quality furniture for the shipping and offshore industries for almost 50 years.
It all started with knowledge, good craftwork and a strong commitment to develop and manufacture the best furniture for ships.
Furniture for express boats
At the beginning of the 1960s the company developed chairs for the first express hydrofoil passenger ferries in collaboration with Westermoen hydrofoil in Mandal. The development and production of seating for express boats imposes extra demands on quality and design. The development work and experience acquired at that time laid the foundations for products that are currently rated among the best in the world in their field.
From leisure craft to cruise ships
When plastic boats took off in southern Norway, Modell Møbler became a major supplier of boat cushions and driver’s seats for a number of well-known makes of leisure craft. This was followed by an increase in our product range and areas of application, and we started supplying specially designed seating for cruise ships developed in close cooperation with architects and designers, including the acknowledged ship architect Njål Eide.
From offshore installations to express ferries
When Norway’s North Sea oil adventure started during the 1970s, a large number of platforms were equipped with furniture supplied by Modell Møbler. Today our largest product group consists of passenger seating for express boats and ferries and our customers are shipping companies and shipyards all over the world.