Furniture from Burgenland – even on display in museums

Series-produced furniture and individual designs are the secret of success for Braun Lockenhaus. They offer much more than “just” chairs.

The Braun brand stands for far more than “just” a chair manufacturer. Braun Lockenhaus stands for the contemporary combination of old craftsmanship and high-tech, which is precisely and personally tailored to the customer’s wishes. In addition to the furniture, the company is dedicated to customised interior design. The exclusive distribution of the Rosconi brand, a specialist for coat racks, receptacles and ashtrays made of stainless steel, rounds off the interior portfolio of Braun Lockenhaus. The Burgenland-based contract and design furniture manufacturer has established itself as one of the country’s market leaders at its production site in Lockenhaus. Today, it supplies the entire contract sector in Austria. Customers include the “21er Haus”, the Esterhazy Palace and the “Kultur Kongress Zentrum” in Eisenstadt, Vienna Airport, the restaurants “Fabios”, “Lugeck” and “Motto am Fluss”, and the “Live Congress Leoben”. Braun Lockenhaus, managed by Jochen Joachims, has been part of German Schneeweiss interior since 2005.

What is the secret to be a successful furniture manufacturer for more than 100 years and to enjoy international recognition?
Jochen Joachims: There are many crucial elements that are essential and important. It is fundamental to constantly question and reflect on yourself, also in terms of processes. Of course, you also have to respond to the customers and understand their needs and desires. That’s why we don’t just produce mass-produced furniture, but also focus on the production of individual furniture and interiors. Of course, we must not disregard the current trends here, which is why we always take a close look at the market and add to our portfolio accordingly. The quality of our products plays just as important a role as our reliability. Customer service is the be-all and end-all. After-sales is therefore not a buzzword for us, but rather a fundamental part of our corporate culture – starting with the needs analysis and ending with follow-up support. We remain loyal to our customers for years after delivery. In the spirit of sustainability, we manufacture spare parts or reupholster the furniture, if required. The customer should be satisfied with our products in the long term.

Braun Lockenhaus is one of the largest full-range furniture suppliers in Austria. What is the company’s focus?
Joachims: Our core areas of operation cover several sectors: Health Care, Hospitality, Public Areas, Education and Business Spaces. The focus is on furnishing hotels, restaurants, seminar areas, trade fairs and meeting places, but also social institutions such as hospitals or care homes as well as faith institutions. We develop room concepts that give new perspectives to living and working environments – from the colour schemes and room planning through to the furnishing with high-quality furniture. Our aim is to offer our customers a complete solution from a single source.

Which of your projects or clients from the past years would you highlight in particular?
Joachims: We supplied the Congress Center Leoben with numerous products, among others from our table and chair portfolio, but also litter bins and lounge furniture. The special feature of the seating furniture was that it was equipped with our ‘no.e’ digital information system. Together with the Viennese architect Martin Mostböck and the Filippou couple, we developed an extravagant armchair for the Michelin-starred restaurant Konstantin Filippou in the heart of Vienna, which we subsequently produced and integrated into our portfolio. A special project in the field of education is the Wifi business institute in Eisenstadt, where we furnished training and seminar rooms according to individual customer requirements. The special feature here is our mobile netbox ‘Power Beam’, which can be mounted and dismounted without tools and retrofitted to a wide variety of tables. Finally, I would also like to mention the assisted living facility ‘Silberhoamat Weidachhof’ in Schwaz, Tyrol, where our custom-fit products were used in the health care sector, which not only fulfil the ergonomic functionalities of the target group, but also contribute significantly to making work easier.

Is it not difficult to meet the needs of customers such as congress centres, the hotel industry, gastronomy, sports facilities or religious facilities under one roof? In addition, you also manufacture individual furniture for private customers.
Joachims: Our main market is for sure in b2b, and the requirements in each target group and also within the target groups are very different and individual. For our development department, this means an enormous amount of effort, so that we can offer the right products to fit the customer’s needs. Due to our very high level of vertical integration, we are almost always able to accommodate all wishes and adaptations.

Isn’t that a logistical nightmare, especially as far as material procurement and supply chains are concerned?‚
Joachims: Thanks to our high vertical integration of 76 percent, we are less dependent on supply chains and can produce as much as possible ourselves. This independence is very important to us and also distinguishes us as a manufacturer. We produce straight from the tree trunk through to the finished piece of furniture. When we do use external partners, regionality and proximity are very important to us – not only in terms of sustainability, but also to keep a better eye on risk management and thus be able to react to delays and interruptions as quickly and as well as possible.

How do you manage to keep winning design awards?
Joachims: As we always work closely with renowned architects and design offices, we not only develop products that follow the latest trends, but also products that meet the highest standards and quality. On the business side, this also promotes our further development.

Your designs can already be found in museums.
Joachims: Our product ‘garcia’ has been part of the permanent exhibition at the MAK Vienna for more than 15 years. It makes us incredibly proud to work with such a talented designer as Martin Mostböck – and that for more than 20 years now. The product can also be admired at the Hofimmobiliendepot in Vienna.

What was behind the idea of the inclusive ‘one4two’ table and have there been any other ‘inclusion furniture’ since its presentation in 2020?
Joachims: The ‘one4two’ product has won several design awards. The focus is on inclusion. Sitting people, for example someone in a wheelchair, can place their drinks and food on it, and at the same time it functions as a high table – a versatile multi-talent, a musthave in our portfolio.

Wood, metal, fabrics and leather – where do you source raw materials from and how much will the new Austrian supply chain law force you to change here?
Joachims: In the middle of Burgenland, economic and ecological responsibility is of great importance to us. The wood used for production comes to a large extent from the forests of the Geschriebenstein and Hirschenstein regions in central Burgenland. We try to source all other materials needed for the manufacturing process as close as possible to our location or from Europe.

Will plastics lose relevance in furniture manufacturing?
Joachims: This question is not so easy to answer because the answer involves a certain complexity. Plastics are currently very trendy, especially for seating shells. Therefore, we expect this trend to increase rather than decrease in the near future.

Are you concerned about the shortage of skilled workers and what are you doing about it – speaking of employer branding?
Joachims: Promoting employees is very important to us. The world of work is in a state of great change and upheaval, and it is not so much a question of a shortage of skilled workers, but a shortage of workers in general. This affects us, as manufacturers, predominantly in the production area. Finding employees in this area, regardless of their qualifications and training, is currently very difficult, if not almost impossible.

What are the biggest challenges for your company in the coming years?
Joachims: Simply because trades are becoming more and more extinct, manufacturing companies will face numerous challenges in the coming years. Rising material and energy costs should not be underestimated and must be compensated accordingly. This will then also be clearly reflected in the increase in product prices. In addition, the increasingly desired and demanded work-life balance with fewer working hours will become the norm, which in turn is not always productive and efficient.