Montana Factory Visit
Last week Catherine and I flew to Denmark to visit Montana, who produce one of our favourite shelving systems. The range is extremely versatile, consisting of units in 42 basic sizes, as well as TV/Hi-fi and wardrobe solutions, which are available in 47 lacquer and veneer finishes. These units can be personalised to suit all of your storage needs, and you can have a lot of fun in the process!
Our first stop was Pakhus 48, where Montana showcase an extensive selection of their products in their vast showroom at Copenhagen’s Free Harbour. A wall of units that stretch on as far as the eye can see provide a visually impressive illustration of the breadth of their range. We were especially taken with the bright orange lacquered glass units and the purple units with asymmetrical doors, as well as the delicious breakfast that was laid on for us!
We were privileged to catch a glimpse of Peter Lassen, who designed the range and founded the company in 1982. His son Joakim, the current director, spoke to us about Montana’s philosophy, which is quite simply to create solutions that provide the ideal balance between functionality and aesthetics, and contribute to a better everyday life both at home and in the workplace – an outlook that resonates strongly with our own feelings about furniture here at Aram.
We saw many configurations at Pakhus, and also at the very homely Montana Mobile showroom in the heart of Copenhagen, which have provided us with lots of inspiration for future projects that will be relevant for both our Retail and Contract teams. We were also treated to a demonstration of Montana’s excellent loudspeakers by their creator Carsten Tingaard, who was highly knowledgeable and infectiously enthusiastic.
Day 2 of our trip took us to Haarby, where Montana’s production facilities are based. The tour of the factory was particularly illuminating, as our expert guide walked us step-by-step through the manufacturing process.
The units are made from high quality MDF, which is cut and sanded down into panels of the required shape and size. These panels are coated in three layers of a white water based lacquer, before the chosen lacquer colour, also water based, is applied.
Once all of the elements required for each order have been made and checked by hand to ensure their quality, the units are assembled. We spent a while talking to the men and women who put these units together, adding the doors, drawers, batons for wall mounting and so on. Their attention to detail is very impressive!
Finally the completed units are boxed up and ready to be shipped on to their new homes.
The best thing about Montana is that everyone has their own idea of what looks good, and the flexibility of the system affords us endless scope to explore these ideas with you. We really did get a sense of how important it is to Montana that they continue to support us and our customers in every way they can.
You can start to explore the range for yourself using Montana’s powerful configurator tool, 'Designed by You'. You can then email your designs directly to us from within the configurator, and we can price these up and offer advice. Or you can come and visit us in store, where we can guide you through our extensive Montana display and help you to start making room for your own personality.
SAMANTHA HORROBIN. Photos by Catherine Simmons