Official partners
Vestre
Vestre is a Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer. For more than 70 years, we have helped create social meeting places where people of all backgrounds can meet. People meeting and getting to know each other and sharing experiences brings trust and friendship and reduces polarisation. Vestre does not just sell benches, chairs and tables – we also sell the concept of inclusion, friendship and the green shift through sustainable and social meeting places. This contributes to what has become our motto: Everyone can save the world. A little.
Vestre is a family-owned company now being managed by third-generation Jan Christian Vestre. Quality, sustainability and inclusive design have formed the cornerstones of the company since it was founded in 1947 in Haugesund, Norway. The first benches made by Vestre were for the square in Haugesund and are still there 70 years on, helping create a popular meeting place for the community.
All of Vestre’s production is in Scandinavia, proving that it is possible to run a profitable mainland industry in high-cost countries such as Norway and Sweden. The factory in Torsby in Värmland, Sweden was designed by architectural firm Snøhetta, which is behind many high-profile international projects, including the library in Alexandria and the 9/11 Memorial Center in New York. The firm also designed “The Peace Bench”, which Vestre and Hydro created in 2019 on behalf of the Nobel Peace Center.
Continuing our sustainability work, Vestre will now build the world’s most environmentally friendly furniture factory called The Plus. The Plus is located in Magnor on the border between Norway and Sweden about an hour from our factory in Torsby. It represents the largest single investment in the Norwegian furniture industry in several decades and will prove that industry is not part of the problem, but part of the solution.
The factory, designed by the world-renowned architectural company Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will be a global showcase for sustainable and highly-efficient manufacturing. This is an investment of nearly SEK 300 million[OM1] . All electric Tesla trucks will operate between the current factory in Torsby and the new Norwegian factory in Magnor.
Vestre has been voted “Brand Builder of the Year” by the Federation of Norwegian Industries and cited as the “Best for outdoor furniture” by the prestigious design and lifestyle magazine Monocle, which has readers worldwide. In 2019, the company was voted “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Norwegian EY gala.
In March 2021, Vestre was presented with its 16th DOGA award by Design and Architecture Norway. In February 2020, Vestre was awarded “Best Stand” at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair for its sustainable stand, developed together with Note Design Studio.
