Poggenpohl places contract worth millions with Dubai

The investment in outstanding design is profitable - the best example therefore is the kitchen manufaturer Poggenpohl. Only this year Poggenpohl received the internationally renowned red dot design award for the excellent design of the kitchen "Plusmodo", the year before, Poggenpohl has been awarded with the red dot for the kitchen "+Integration". Now, Germany`s eldest furniture brand becomes part of "Eighth Wonders of the World".

This is the punchy attribute tourism marketing strategists in Dubai have bestowed upon "The Palm", their futuristic holiday paradise. For several billion dollars the desert emirate has created two man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree, hoping soon to attract 15 million tourists a year with them. East Westphalian Poggenpohl Möbelwerke GmbH is now fitting two kitchens into 250 of the 2,000 luxury villas that are planned.

The first Palm Island – "The Palm Jumeirah" with a 120-kilometre sandy beach, 40 luxury hotels, shopping malls and yacht marinas – is to be completed by the middle of the year. This is also when the villas are to be opened to their future inhabitants. Here is what Poggenpohl's export manager Matthias Weiss has to report on the contract which comes with a sales volume of several million euros: "The master kitchen in a luxury villa on Palm Jumeirah can be up to 45 square metres in size. Added to this is a utility room into which we have also installed a kitchen."

The project developers on location have opted predominantly for classic kitchen furniture fronts in traditional, conservative styles. The property developer will be handing the buildings over to the owners fully fitted. All of the luxury homes sold within a few weeks of inviting tenders before construction commenced.

Poggenpohl Möbelwerke GmbH, subsidiary of Sweden's Nobia Group, has an export share of over 70% and is turning into a global brand with a market presence in more than 60 countries around the world. The company operates a dense sales network in the Middle East and is well established in the Gulf states with permanent import partners. In terms of turnover, around 37% of German kitchen furniture exports to the Emirates carried the Poggenpohl name in 2005.