Carl Hanson & Son: Ongoing Evolution
In February 2013, I visited the Carl Hansen & Søn factory in Aarup, outside Odense in Denmark. It was a very important time for the manufacturer, as they had just bought Rud. Rasmussen – another cabinetmaking business famous for its craftsmanship – and I wrote about the visit for our blog: ‘The Evolution of Craftsmanship’.
Evolution doesn’t stand still and it was fascinating to visit Carl Hansen & Søn once again last week. The remarkable growth of the company can be attributed to the current CEO, Knud Erik Hansen – the third generation of the family to take the helm, after buying out his older brother Jørgen. I remember that when Aram Store first opened, the lead time for Hans Wegner’s renowned ‘Wishbone’ chair was more than a year; this was because Jørgen took a very cautious approach and maintained the same production methods his grandfather had put in place in the original factory in Kochsgade, Odense in 1933, despite rising global demand.
The factory at Kochsgade, Odense, opened in 1933
Knud Erik brought with him a wealth of business acumen and recognised the improvements that could be made by investing massively in the most technologically up-to-date machinery. This also meant that production could be kept in Denmark, crucially safeguarding the skill and experience of the company’s master craftsmen. But within two years of my 2013 visit, production had already outgrown the 6,000 sq m Aarup factory that Knud Erik built in 2003. So, with a great deal of planning and care, everything was moved to a new campus of 12 buildings ten minutes down the road at Gelsted.
A new purpose-built factory at Aarup opened in 2003
Having reached capacity after 12 years, production moved to a new campus at Gelsted in 2016
Whilst the machinery – which runs almost 24/7 – speeds up immensely the manufacturing of components, craftsmanship is still absolutely integral to the process. Once machined, each piece is finished by hand – appraised for quality at each stage – and assembled by hand, the skill evident in the ease and confidence with which minor adjustments are made, for example, to ensure that a Wishbone chair sits straight and flat.
CH26 chair frames ready to have their papercord seats woven
CH07 Shell chair frames stacked up awaiting their seats and backs
Stacks of CH20 'Elbow' chairs showing off the unusual 11-ply underframe
The CH24 'Wishbone' chair lacquered in a rainbow panoply of colours ready for their papercord seats to be woven
“Carl Hansen & Søn is built with lots of emotion and love involved. And that can be challenging too. We are still a family - it is our choices, our decisions that influence the direction and future of our designers, both new and from our heritage. The designers we produce and the stories we tell - there are humans at the heart. Real people who are part of our wider family and an authentic Danish design network. We have a very strong sense of belonging: I want to bring the next generation, my sons, into Carl Hansen & Søn - it is the most important thing. We are a Danish company, but we are sustained by our exports, and capturing the minds and hearts of a global audience. We have to develop fast and consider what is happening elsewhere and in new markets. It has always been the way, ever since my grandfather. Everything since has been a natural, genuine evolution.” – Knud Erik Hansen
The CH445 chair, CH446 footstool and CH008 coffee table in the Spring sunshine at the Carl Hansen & Søn Copenhagen showroom on Bredgade
True to the company's founding values, it is Carl Hansen & Søn's ambition to make furniture of the highest quality, maintaining beauty and value with respect for sustainable design, materials and more than 100 years of traditions of craftsmanship.