Spaljisten: Transforming Furniture Industry with Foil Wrapping Expertise

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Starting with a business idea to produce veneered moldings for the building industry, Spaljisten today distributes its wide range of single item and complete complex furniture products to a global market

Founded in 1975 by Rolf and Anita Malmquist in Aseda, based in the heart of Smaland, Sweden, Spaljisten began operations as a manufacturer of veneered moldings for the building sector. Following a decade of servicing customers, the company went on to benefit from investments in wrapping techniques; these investments have since proven to be a major milestone in its success story, with the company gaining an ongoing contract as a supplier and growing partner of IKEA and further developing its product range from single items to complete furniture products. “We have been working with IKEA as a supplier since 1983 and today operate at our site with 140 personnel, delivering foil-wrapped furniture to our customer base. Although we have faced some challenging times over recent years, our profit has increased significantly in 2016 with a jump in turnover to nine per cent,” comments Managing Director of Spaljisten Niklas Lundin.

Today boasting the capability and capacity to manufacture a diverse range of single item and complete complex furniture products at large volumes for distribution to a global market, Spaljisten has been owned by Active Invest Sweden AB since 2004. This acquisition has resulted in continuous investments in the organisation, as well as its facilities and machineries to ensure Spaljisten remains a competitive partner on a global market. This strategy of ongoing investment has proven fruitful, with the company generating a 55 million euro turnover from its 35,000 square metre factory space.

With foil wrapping the company’s core competence for decades, Spaljisten today has several wrapping lines installed and is thus able to offer profiles with 2D and 360 degree wrapping technology. One of the lines is unique as it is specialised in processing thicker foils that mainly have a high gloss finish that is used for fronts and panels; these panels fulfil the highest requirements when it comes to top quality surfaces.

Alongside groundbreaking technology and state-of-the-ar t facilities, the company also ensures optimum quality through its focus on delivering the best solutions when it comes to material and production development. Indeed, with the world’s leading retailer of furniture as its main customer, Spaljisten ensures satisfaction every time by hiring dedicated personnel that follow IKEA Compliance Standards and IWAY. Moreover, the company also takes part in the development process to successfully design new furniture and performs continuous tests in Spaljisten’s lab.

When it comes to the values of Spaljisten, the company expects personnel to participate actively in the firm’s development and improvement, take responsibility for tasks and take charge when required, understand their role and the importance of their job and create a happy and positive atmosphere within the organisation.

Through the sourcing of expert personnel, highly automated and continuously improved equipment and machinery, and a strongly adhered to ethos of responsibility, openness, development and improvement, Spaljisten has become a first choice international supplier of high quality products. Products within Spaljisten’s range include high gloss, matte and wood finishes for the home; areas in the property suitable for these products include the entrance, kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.

Not only committed to high quality foil wrapping solutions, the company also has a firm belief in operating in a sustainable manner. For example, all scrap from disposable income packaging as well as internal waste is specially treated in a separate process to become briquettes. Moreover, Spaljisten feeds its local heating firm with over 50 per cent of its need, which is then turned into heat water for the community. Meanwhile, when it comes to production, the company converts all products into a lighter par ticle board to further reduce its environmental impact. Additionally, the FSC certified company always has ‘the next generation and our footprint on the ear th’ in mind when it comes to the development of new products.

Looking ahead, the next major step in the company’s efforts towards sustainable paper use is to include corrugated packaging, assembly instructions, labels, protective paper and other secondary paper material while also securing the deadline for 100 per cent more sustainable sources by 2020.

In addition to its focus on sustainability, the company announced its suppor t of Hand in Hand in 2014; the non-profit organisation aims to reduce pover ty through job creation via the education and training of women in particular. Hand in Hand has programmes in India and several countries in southern and eastern Africa and Afghanistan, while Hand in Hand Sweden conducts fundraising activities to suppor t programmes. The organisation also suppor ts the programmes and par ticipates in the development of field operations with a vision of creating ten million jobs globally over the next ten years.

Moving forward, Spaljisten is cer tain to continue delivering high quality solutions to its customer base while also seeking out opportunities for further growth following a successful 2016. With a solid platform in place, the future looks positive for the company as it benefits from continued investment and the financial strength of its parent company. Complementing this ongoing investment is Spaljisten’s focus on the development of its personnel as well as the sourcing of new employees, who join either as experienced members of staff or as interns who are starting their careers in foil wrapping. By investing in the future of Spaljisten in all areas of the business, the company is cer tain to maintain its competitive edge for many years to come.

Spaljisten
Products: Manufacture foil wrapping for furniture