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The Swabian start-up APUS^® is launching production and global sales of high-end furniture made of centuries-old timber from China. APUS^® is thus filling a niche in the high-priced luxury segment for designer furniture. The raw material comes from no-longer-used houses due for demolition and is completely natural: Chinese elm and mahogany of this quality are as unique as they are rare in Europe. The young company’s target group is just as clear: lovers of exceptional interior furnishings who know what they want.

Waldenburg/Munich, January 08, 2013: APUS^® GbR, based in Waldenburg near Schwäbisch-Hall, is announcing the launch of production and sales of high-end designer tables made of centuries-old noble timbers from China. The Swabian start-up is thus filling a market niche in the high-priced luxury segment for designer furniture. “Home decor lifestyle is becoming more and more important. The need for uncompromising self-fulfilment is growing, especially when living and a feeling of well-being are involved“, stated managing director Bernd Bauer (57), who is in charge of production and product development. Bauer, a master carpenter and entrepreneur in the furniture trade for over 20 years, established the company “APUS^® - Living designed by nature” jointly with his son Jörg in 2012. Jörg Bauer, who is in charge of sales and marketing, commented: “More and more people are investing in valuable items for the next generations of their families. Unique pieces of furniture and one-off items made of these high-quality timbers are correspondingly popular in our target markets. These woods are absolutely natural, untreated and long-lasting; what’s more, they meet the highest design requirements.”

Not all woods are alike: production.

Regardless of which type of furniture APUS^® makes - dining tables, desks and boardroom tables, kitchen worktops or furniture for the luxury catering and hotel trade - the pieces of furniture are created primarily according to customers’ wishes. Materials such as glass or metal can be integrated just as easily as carvings, symbols, signs, writing or company logos. In addition, it is possible to incorporate sculptures or statues. If tables are made to the designs of the Chinese designer Ming, APUS^® has the timber worked in Asia, in keeping with the centuries-old craft tradition. “When we work together with designers from Europe, we produce in German workshops“, Bernd Bauer explained. APUS^® supplements individual manufacture of customized, unique pieces with product lines of European designers, which are currently in the preparation stage. When worked, the surfaces are either smooth or brushed. The haptic impression, the experience of touching the timbers, is unique. “Not all woods are alike. This wood is 100% natural. This means that anyone who has touched these tables once is and remains fascinated with them”, said managing director Bernd Bauer.

Character begins at home: sales and marketing.

APUS^® sells its products directly. The company presents itself and a selection of possible table designs on its web site www.apus-living.de. “We attach a great deal of importance to advising our customers personally. Anyone who decides to order a genuine APUS^® table is served personally by the manufacturer”, explained Jörg Bauer. “The aim of the web site is to prompt prospective customers to contact APUS^® and have a personal talk”, said Jan Entzminger, chief executive of blindwerk neue medien GmbH in Rhodt unter Rietburg, which produced the web pages. With its web site APUS^® is addressing not only private and business customers, but also selected cooperation partners such as interior designers, designers or installers of high-end kitchen furniture or interior decors. Initial discussions in Germany and abroad confirm that there is a market for such individually made, high-quality furniture in the luxury class. APUS^® is focusing its marketing mainly on Germany, Majorca, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

A business idea takes off.

The business idea of making designer tables from centuries-old, high-grade timber from China grew out of the cooperation with the Chinese furniture designer Ming. Ming has been living in Freiberg am Neckar near Stuttgart since 1988 and sources the timber for APUS^® directly from China. Whereas light-coloured timbers are very popular in Europe, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, demand for such woods is low in the Chinese domestic markets. Asians prefer furniture made of black and red varieties of trees. This is how Bernd Bauer describes what motivated him to establish and find a name for his young company: “People are looking for values that are expressed in something special. The time is ripe for APUS^®”. The name APUS^® originates from the species of the swift. This migratory bird belongs to the species of nest-builders and flies several thousand kilometres a year. That is why it is also called a “migrant between the continents”. Its Latin name is “apus apus”. Jörg Bauer elaborates: “APUS^® stands for the feeling of security one has within one’s own four walls, the co-existence of continents and cultures, and symbolizes the link between humans and nature”. In a way, his young company performs recycling at a high level.

Further information

www.apus-living.de

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Pressemitteilung als PDF-Download

Pressemitteilung vom 08.01.2013

About APUS^® - Living designed by nature

The company APUS^® GbR, based in Waldenburg near Schwäbisch-Hall, produces high-end designer tables made of natural, centuries-old timber from China. The firm makes tables customized according to its customers’ wishes. Product lines of European and Asian designers round off the young company’s product range. Upon request APUS^® can produce pieces of furniture to match each table, such as benches or occasional tables, kitchen worktops or designer objects made of wood. The valuable raw material for the tables is centuries-old elm wood and mahogany from no-longer-used buildings in Shanxi Province in the Greater Beijing area and mahogany from all over China. APUS^® GbR was established in 2012 at the initiative of the managing directors, Bernd Bauer and Jörg Bauer. The business idea grew out of the cooperation with the Chinese furniture designer Ming, who has been living in Freiberg am Neckar near Stuttgart since 1988. The name APUS^® originates from the species of the swift. This migratory bird belongs to the species of nest-builders and flies several thousand kilometres a year. That is why it is also called a “migrant between the continents”. Its Latin name is “apus apus“.

www.apus-living.de