The German Design Council, the institution for the promotion and evaluation of brand management and product design, has awarded Viasit with the "German Brand Award" for "outstanding brand management" in the product category for "Office and Stationary" for office chair innovation with its new "Drumback" chair. This prestigious award was presented to Managing Director Thomas Schmeer at a special ceremony in Berlin in June.

The Drumback story convinced the judges with its innovative design concept, in which Martin Ballendat combined the benefits of a mesh back chair with those of an upholstered back chair in a special style from which the chairs name is derived:

The “mesh” fabric is stretched, in a similar way to the skin of a drum, over the back component providing the comfort of a padded chair, and at the same time the lightness and breathability of a mesh back chair. In addition, the chair features a unique, but logical user operating concept with a browser-based HTML5 user manual and easy to understand icons on the integrated adjustment buttons. Drumback also delivers a significantly reduced carbon footprint, compared to traditional office chairs.

"This award is in recognition for our efforts to sharpen the Viasit brand and position it at a higher level, through an increasingly clear company-specific design language", says Managing Director Thomas Schmeer. In 1980, the company originally started out as a manufacturer of only office seating. In recent years the Saarland company has gradually expanded its product range. In collaboration with external designers such as Martin Ballendat, Büro Palma Kunkel, Ralf Umland and others, Viasit finds answers for the combination of work places and communication areas in an open space office, sustainability and the convergence of living and working.

The German Brand Award is only one of a long and impressive history of winning prestigious national and international design prizes for its products over and again. "Drumback" also received the "Green Product Award 2017".

Viasit is now officially a "major German brand"

In May, Viasit became a foundation member of the German Design Council. Only companies that are characterised by outstanding performance and success in the field of design and brand management are appointed to the Council.

Viasit, a medium-sized office furniture manufacturer from the Saarland, has now become a member of this illustrious circle, which includes global brands such as Porsche, Adidas and Rolf Benz. Viasit will therefore feature in the 2017 issue of the "Germany's major brands" magazine.

About the German Design Council

The German Design Council was established as an initiative of the first German Bundestag (the lower house of German parliament) in 1953 with a mandate to support the German economy in the implementation of design as an economic and cultural factor. The foundation currently consists of over 260 companies from different design-relevant areas of Germany industry. This elite circle also includes world-famous names such as Porsche, Adidas, Daimler, Hülsta, Rosenthal, Rolf Benz and WMF. In Frankfurt, the Council is particularly well-known for the annual award ceremony of the German Design Awards at the Ambiente trade fair.