Meet The Team: Teknion

Teknion is one of the world’s leading companies in corporate interior products with a host of quality of brands under one big umbrella. At their Middle East showroom in d3, we met with the regional leadership team to learn about their successes and challenges this past year, and their future plans.

Their Secret Sauce

“At Teknion, we pride ourselves on being accessible, authentic, human beings —members of a big company that act like a small company,” says Heather Portingale, Sales Director, Middle East and Africa. “We are family owned and operated, and that entrepreneurial spirit empowers our teams to make big decisions quickly, so you never feel small. We try not to take ourselves too seriously, but we are very serious about designing the right solutions for our customers, and share a “can do, will do” attitude. We designed our company to be agile, responsive and a little bit different.”

This past year

2019 has been a year of transformation for Teknion and has seen the brand stabilise their position in the Middle East region. Having clients that are more focused on quality, longevity and sustainability, rather than just pricing, makes them more optimistic about the coming years and their expansion in this region. “As markets evolve, budgets remain a key focus and we are looking at ways to offer more for less, which can be a challenge.”

“We’re excited about the developments across the entire organisation, especially Studio TK, Luum and Artifort.”

– Heather Portingale, Sales Director, Middle East & Africa

The Family

Teknion’s image has evolved over the last few years with three distinctive brands forming the Teknion Family – Teknion, Studio TK and Luum – giving clients a full offering from a single source.

The brand launched over 21 new products at Neocon this year, with some amazing design partnerships with Pearson Lloyd, Mario Ruiz & Justus Kolberg. At Dubai Design Week, Teknion is excited to open their first ever Middle East Hub at Dubai Design District (d3). Clients and design firms can now experience the full Teknion family of brands, as well as make use of their offering of a space to work, relax and recharge.

Here’s what you can expect…

The new Teknion Experience Centre will be officially launched during Dubai Design Week. The Studio TK brand aims to bridge the gap between spaces where we work and the work culture we aspire to. By blending multiple settings into a centralised locale, employees are offered a range of opportunities to congregate and communicate, thus increasing productivity and creating a workplace that improves well-being.

Teknion’s homegrown textiles brand Luum, led by their Creative Director Suzanne Tick, will also be displayed at the new showroom. LUUM patterns are inherently structural, never stylised or applied. They allow furniture to be structures of architecture, creating a continuum throughout a space, from exterior to interior. Ninety five percent of all fibres and products used in the LUUM collection are environmentally friendly and RED Label free.

Lastly, the recent partnership with Artifort, a 125 year old, Amsterdam based manufacture of Social Spaces products, has increased their offering of European, design led items in the region. The Artifort collection features iconic pieces, like the F500 chair designed by Geoffrey D. Harcourt in 1967, also to be displayed at the Teknion Experience Centre in Dubai Design District.