Tiomos for the door to the future.

Never before has a hinge system featured so many trendsetting aspects as Tiomos. Go to pages II/III to see everything about the evolutionary system with revolutionary kinematics and the stepped damping control mechanism concealed in the hinge arm.

Two Red Dot Awards for GRASS.

TIOMOS PRODUCTION IN REINHEIM. Helmut Kainrad on the newly developed, fully automatic production facility. Page IV

HAVE A GREEN DAY.Frank Nessler on concepts and the vibrant interaction between identity and design. Page V

THE FUTURE IS NOW.Is the trend towards powered movement set to continue? Thomas Müller on the living style of tomorrow. Page VI

MoveMents The new evolutionary hinge system for the furniture trends of tomorrow.

Dynapro and Tiomos have been awarded the quality seal for good design.

19,000 visitors at the ZoW exhibition. And a raging success for GRAss. The ZOW suppliers’ exhibition in Bad Salzuflen in February was a magnet for the European furni-ture and supplier industries as well as trade and architects. About 19,000 visitors flooded through the exhibition grounds in order to take in new trends and take a close look at the new products. The feedback from visitors was highly pleasing for GRASS employees at the exhibi-tion. The new Tiomos hinge system caused quite a stir and other new systems such as the Quaturis Swing were extremely well received.

CUSTOMER MAGAZINE

INMotIonISSUE 2/2010

tutti a Milano. off to the eurocucina 2010 exhibi­tion. 144 exhibitors have regis-tered for this year’s Eurocucina exhibition. That is a few more than in 2008, a positive sign in view of the lingering effects of the glo-bal financial and economic crisis. Exhibitors are likely to showcase innovative ideas, creative design, new technologies and holistic qual-ity. What we look forward to: our new, tried and tested movement systems will appear in many of our customers’ quality furniture.

This is not the first award for GRASS. But it is welcome news. It strength-ens our belief and motivation. Of the 4,252 entries from 1,636 companies in 57 countries only the best were reward-ed. Amongst them were the Dynapro concealed slide system and the Tiomos hinge system. Our thanks go to the jury and, above all, to those who have driven the development of these move-ment systems: our customers, product

managers, engineers and production experts as well as all members of staff.

“People intuitively feel whether a movement is beautiful.”

Markus HerperHead of Development Hinge Systems

“Tiomos is currently the best possible movement so-lution for furniture doors.”

Tarek UtturkarProduct Manager Hinge Systems

“Tiomos is the new benchmark in hinge technology.”

Mikko KubierskeHead of Product Management Hinge Systems

Perfect form with fascinati ng properties.

Markus Herper is also a 'Tiomos man' who was involved from the begin-ning. That, and the first exchange of ideas with Mikko Kubierske and Tarek Utturkar, he remembers very well: “We talked a lot about movement in general and about the movement of doors. Peo-ple intuitively feel whether a movement

is beautiful. They feel it in themselves, in other people, in moving objects and also in the kitchen. We, as technically-minded people, always want to know how some-thing works and how it could function better. That led us to the subject of Galileo who is considered the inventor of modern kinematics. That inspired us to

A little bit of Galileo Galilei.

Markus Herper, Head of Development at the Competence Centre for Hinge Systems in Reinheim, on the kinematics in Tiomos.

think further than we had up until then. So a little of this man’s fascinating mind has also gone into Tiomos.”

optimum leverage forces for minimum gaps. The new kinemat-ics concealed within Tiomos is an other small stroke of genius. Thanks to physi-cally optimised leverage movements, it is extremely easy to open furniture doors. In addition, the unique kinematics facilitate exceptionally even reveals with minimum gaps. These unique characteristics of the new hinge system are of special benefit for furniture designers because these re-duced gaps and reveals offer completely new opportunities in furniture design.

Perfect alignment with a twist of the wrist. Markus Herper is pleased about the successful options

About timely ideas and their attraction.

Mikko Kubierske, Head of Product Manage-ment for Hinge Systems, on the development of Tiomos.

Mikko Kubierske has a sense of humour. And to counter a common prejudice: for a technically-minded German, the man has a strong and wry sense of humour. That comes across at the very beginning of the interview about his work on Tiomos: “We often get ahead of our-selves when thinking about the future.

But we shouldn’t miss out on the present.” A good example of Mikko Kubierske’s 'here and now' approach is quick to follow: “Two or three years ago Tarek Utturkar and I flew to Chicago in order to interview customers about our Tiomos concept. A heavy blizzard forced us to land at New York, with an unplanned overnight stay. We were not very pleased, thought of our customers, the delay and the time wasted – in other words, the future. And then we realised that at long last we had time and leisure

to share our ideas. When we arrived in Chicago the next day, the luggage with our first Tiomos prototype was missing. However, in spite of that, we were able to get our customers all fired up by our ideas about Tiomos – and quite a few of them were born during the previous night.”

only a few years ago tiomos would not have been possible. The actual start of the development of Tiomos, according to Mikko Kubierske, was in 2006, although the idea of a new hinge generation had been around since 2001: “As a result of the merger of GRASS and Mepla-Alfit we were able to combine our competencies and unify our visions. At that time there was no satisfactory solution on the market for an integrated damper without pins or adapters or similar additions. And nobody wanted to go as far as talking about adjustable damping technology within the hinge. And yet that was precisely what Markus Herper, Tarek Utturkar and I wrote into our first joint briefing catalogue – together with many other criteria which we are fulfilling today.”

A masterpiece is usually the sum of small strokes of genius. Mikko Kubierske is mod-est enough not to talk about a master-piece in this context; nevertheless he agrees with the idea: “I believe Michael Schumacher once said that he was only able to become world champion on the basis of many small details coming to-gether, which was the result of the work of everyone involved. We have experi-

for the fine adjustment of Tiomos hinges: “Vertical and depth adjustment is contin-uous and self-locking using a worm gear principle. The third dimension is equally as easy, and adjusts the overlay and sets the stop limit. Compared to many other rather more sensational advantages of Tiomos, this does not sound too impres-sive at first. However, when considering the installation of a high-quality kitchen with its expensive front panels, and thinking about extremely narrow reveals, then the picture becomes clearer and the benefit obvious.”

the path to a uniform formal vocabulary. When talking about high-quality living room and bathroom furniture, Markus Herper remembers, as so often, the lengthy discussions with furniture manufacturers and designers: “A uniform formal vocabulary is of im-mense importance for how design is perceived. Our customers have told us often enough how important it would be to have just one hinge system for mov-ing a wide range of different doors. And that is what we have managed to do.” The systematically extended Tiomos range covers movement solutions for glass, mirror and aluminium frames through to variable wide-angle applications and provides perfect movement in virtually all applications. Markus Herper concludes:

“The Tiomos 160° wide-angle hinge can be used for standard wide-angle solutions as well as for doors with zero protrusion, a fact that reflects our idea of systematic economy, making the hinge system par-ticularly attractive to the trade.”

Continually amazed.

Tarek Utturkar, Product Manager for Hinge Systems, on the culture of cooperation.

The project team travelled to every conti-nent to visit over two hundred customers during the development phase of Tiomos in order to establish their needs and to obtain their feedback during vari-ous stages of the development. Tarek Utturkar has been part of that team from the outset. Today, in his own words, Tarek is overwhelmed by the openness and trust of customers, and particularly inspired by the three-year development process and the results it achieved: “As product manager you think of what is possible and what you can only dream of, and run the risk of exhausting your-self in trying to achieve the dream. When talking to customers and their design-ers you sense the enormous potential of as yet unrealised ideas, and on your way home you begin to think of how to overcome economic and commercial barriers.” Tarek Utturkar is very fond of remembering the times when they presented the first prototypes with ad-justable damper technology within the hinge arm: “I glanced at the faces of the designers and engineers present up to the moment when we presented the damper adjustment, and every time their eyes widened in amazement. That is simply unforgettable.”

tiomos is an evolutionary new development. Tarek Utturkar is grateful: “The feedback from custom-ers has confirmed our approach again and again. They have encouraged us to develop a completely new hinge, in spite of the high investment costs. Today we see more clearly than ever before that we made the right decision in order to meet market requirements in the decade to come.” In addition to these custom-ers, Tarek Utturkar mentions the large

development team at GRASS as well as GRASS’s designer, Stefan Ambrozus. “The early involvement of Stefan was im-mensely helpful for the overall project. Thanks to his work we were able to achieve our vision of a consistent design throughout the entire product range with its various hinge types.” “What remains,” summarises Tarek Utturkar, “is not only a unique product but also the fact that so many participants at the various GRASS locations, and also outside the company, have grown closer together. For me that makes the Tiomos success even more precious, and I think that the develop-ment process can be considered a guide-line for the future.”

enced that every day throughout these last three years and now we feel that the hard work was worth it.

the entire damping tech­nology is integrated and concealed in the hinge arm.One of the outstanding characteristics of the new hinge system is the choice of adjustment levels for the Soft-Close closing damper. Mikko Kubierske and his colleagues had 'sleepless nights try-

ing to integrate and conceal the entire damping technology in the hinge arm'. Today the complex and concealed inner workings of the high-tech hinge work like a Swiss timepiece and impress through their unique damping characteristics. The closing action is smooth and even in all of the movement phases, starting from an opening angle as small as 20°. “The size and weight of the door do not matter,” emphasises the Head of Prod-uct Management, and he goes on to say:

“The determining argument for adjusting the damper without tools was that many different door sizes and dimensions ex-ist in the furniture industry. Doors should close evenly and quietly, whatever their size. It was also important that there should be no rebound effect. Today we know that this was the right decision, without a doubt. This solution will prevail in the market and with it GRASS sets a new benchmark in hinge technology.”

Out of sight, but highly effective: the Tiomos adjustable damping technology.

Tiomos: a great and inspiring challenge for Product Management.

Evolutionary technologies in the smallest of spaces.

INMotIon. THE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE. Page II/III

It is fascinating to meet Frank Nessler for a personal conversation. He comes across as inspired, and inspiring, in everything he says, and how he says it. What he says is clear and precise and yet highly emotional. It is remarkable how he manages to transfer his provoc-ative, motivating way into an email or a letter. Even short instructions to his staff or memos in a normal working day por-tray vigorous momentum, impetus for movement, the challenge to get on with things. Between the lines, you get the message: “Either we design our future, or the future designs us.” His attitude comes across at the end of emails. In-stead of the usual 'With kind regards' or similar ending, Frank Nessler signs off with sentences like 'Have a green day'. And there, if not before, the new GRASS spirit becomes evident.

Have a green day. When asked about his personal views about 'green days', Frank Nessler says: “Originally this sentence was coined by our Glo-bal Brand Manager, Harald Klüh, and it has many dimensions. Within GRASS it is about the spirit with which we carry out our work. For our visions and aims, we have selected a mountain as a metaphor. Not just any mountain, but the GRASS mountain. And just as Reinhold Messner and others manage their quests to reach the highest peaks of this world, so we manage ours. So, a 'green day' is not a normal working day in any odd company – it is a day on our GRASS quest to 'become the best'. A day full of concentration, inspiration and motivation, a day by the end of which

we want to reach a certain milestone. These are hours filled with challenges and the ambition to master them, but also hours of enjoying our joint effort along the way. This makes it possible to cope with difficult times and to get further than others during good times.”

systematic innovation and in­vestment strategies. According to Frank Nessler, the 'crisis' year 2009 and GRASS’s reaction to it are a good example of this attitude: “In spite of the fact that we did not achieve our sales and operating profits targeted for 2009, and consequently had to make cuts in many areas, we still maintain our ambitious goals. Over the last three years, more than 100 million euros has been invested in the GRASS Group as a whole. In 2010, more than 30 million euros will flow into new products, pro-duction facilities, research and devel-opment, and sales. This is all aimed at bringing innovations to the market that make life easier for our customers and the end consumer.”

Investments should not only be measured in terms of money. For Managing Director Frank Nessler, 'green spirit' is not just a sign of material investment: “If we take a brief look back at recent months we can say with pride that we have moved forward quite a long way. We had to face the international market situation and the merger of our companies with the coming together of different com-pany cultures. We have all learnt a lot. Above all: change means movement, and movement means life. It takes personal investment from all of us, every day – our commitment, coura-geous thinking, creativity and an active openness to others.” For Frank Nessler, this dynamic change in the company culture is also reflected in the new corporate design: “I feel an incredibly strong interaction between our identity and our design. One strengthens the other, and for me that is also the reason that our new brand presence at Interzum 2009 met with such an enthusiastic re-sponse. People could actually sense it:

GRASS has changed. GRASS is moving. There is still a lot more movement to come from GRASS.”

A 'green day' for customers and consumers. When asked about the immediate and longer term future of GRASS and the industry, Frank Nessler replies: “My personal response is to give an idea of how a 'green day' might be experienced by consumers and our customers. For consumers it is a day on which they wholeheartedly enjoy the beautiful looks and function of their furniture and movement systems. Their furniture is an expression of their status, their personality and their life-style, just like the car in their garage, the clothes in their wardrobe or the eau de toilette on their skin. Every design de-tail on the inside of a piece of furniture including the movement will be just as well conceived as on the outside. That is possible, because with our systems for slides, hinges, flaps and corner cabi-nets we cover all movements perfectly. Environmentally aware consumers will appreciate that GRASS favours an eco-logical use of resources, recycled mate-rials and new energy concepts. And our customers in industry and trade will ap-preciate our service which is motivated by a 'green spirit' when, in a climate of increased competitiveness, they look for partners who will actively and creatively support them.

A green future with a red dot. “The future is a big challenge,” reflects Frank Nessler, “and if we give every-thing, it will be green. The two Red Dot

Frank Nessler, the Grass Group’s Director of Sales and Marketing, on visions, change and movement.

Beauty enhances our perspective on life.

“The future is a blank canvas for the designer.”awards for GRASS Dynapro and GRASS Tiomos provide clear confirmation of our approach, because they recognise achievements which are GRASS-like through and through: for design integ-rity, for movement in unique, award-winning form and function.”

“GRASS’s new spirit is becoming more tangible every day.”

Frank NesslerDirector of Sales and Marketing GRASS Group

State of the art: Tiomos production in Reinheim.Helmut Kainrad on what was perhaps the biggest challenge in his career.

Tiomos is not a hinge in the traditional sense of the word; it is actually a complex movement system. That makes the tasks of production and quality assurance all the more demanding. As Helmut Kainrad says: “Complexity is further increased by the minimal amount of space available; if Tiomos were a microchip, it would be a lot easier for us. Nothing moves in a chip, and it certainly doesn’t have several hundred thousand movements, as with Tiomos.” The Managing Director of the Competence Centre for Hinge Systems makes another comparison, this time with expensive wrist watches: “Although time-pieces are even more complex, their me-chanical parts move weights of just a few grams or even much less. By contrast, Tiomos has to move doors with weights of up to more than ten kilograms, and it has to do so with an action that is comfortable for the user and feels harmonious from the tactile and kinematic points of view.”

Production facilities to auto­motive standards. The require-ments to be met in the manufacture of Tiomos are of a similar high standard to

those of the automotive industry, explains Helmut Kainrad: “We have therefore de-veloped our new fully automatic manufac-turing facilities to the same standards. In some areas such as the reliable manufac-

ture of the unique adjustable damper, the criteria can even be compared to those of medical technology or aerospace tech-nology. That may sound exaggerated, but will become obvious to any visitor coming to Reinheim and experiencing production in detail.” However, few people will ever have this priviledge because most pro-duction and quality assurance processes and their underlying technologies are kept under wraps in order to avoid imitations.

30­million­euro investment.Investment in the entire product family runs to about 30 million euros. All assem-bly plants and tools were redesigned from scratch and built as an integrated whole. At GRASS the development, implementa-tion and product introduction of Tiomos involved about 50 employees for a period of more than 3 years. Parts are manufac-tured in the punching and metal forming facility and the zinc diecasting facility at Reinheim. Plastic parts are supplied by the GRASS Competence Centre for Plastics in Salzburg as well as a few selected manu-facturers. Final assembly of the Tiomos takes place at the Reinheim facility.

special attention is paid to quality in all aspects of the product and its production. As with all other GRASS movement systems, quality assurance is given top priority with Tiomos.

“The new Kinvaro L-80 makes our already wide range of flap lift systems even more at-tractive,” comments Andreas Köpnick, Managing Director of the Competence Centre for Flap and Corner Cabinet Systems at Alpirsbach. The Kinvaro L-80 opens flaps paral-lel to the cabinet front, requiring very little force to do so. But in spite of the easy action, the user always has the feeling of maximum stability. The Kinvaro L-80 will stay in any position and will close with a gentle damping action. The adjustable damping system allows for a uniform closing action, irrespective of the weight of the flap. This ranges from light weights of 1.6 kilograms through to heavy doors weighing 14.6 kilograms, with widths of up to 120 cm. Andreas Köpnick is keen to “highlight the wide applica-tion range of this new flap lift system, rather than explaining the technical details.” The development of the Kinvaro L-80 focused on design, quality and user comfort as well as the efficiency of furniture manufacture. Here, the benefits of the flap lift system lie in the easy, time-saving assembly of just a few parts and the fact that the door can be fitted and removed without tools.

“The Kinvaro L-80 flap lift system is a great addition to our range.”

Andreas KöpnickManaging Director of the Competence Centrefor Flap and Corner Cabinet Systems at Alpirsbach

Andreas Köpnick on the new flap lift system.

“Without the experience of the entire GRASS Group in the production of hinge systems, the development of Tiomos would not have been possible at this level.”

Andreas WackerHead of Productionin Reinheim

“Our greatest challenge was the development and reliable manufacture of the totally unique adjustable damper.”

Helmut KainradManaging Director of the Competence Centre for Hinge Systems in Reinheim

The focus was on important attributes such as the quality of movement, lon-gevity, robustness, appearance and full functionality in all climatic conditions right from the early stages of develop-ment. In this context, Helmut Kainrad mentions just a few of the tests: “Our durability tests are excessive.

We have designed the climate change zone tests and vacuum tests specifically for Tiomos.” Andreas Wacker, who is responsible for production at Reinheim, adds: “To ensure the necessary quality we combined the experience gained in over 30 years of producing hinge sys-tems within the GRASS Group. The qual-ity departments at Höchst and Reinheim work closely together in order to achieve and maintain the best possible quality standard.”

Sophisticated quality assurance is applied at every stage, like here during final assembly of the damper.

Production cell for damper assembly.

Tiomos test station.

Kinvaro L-80. Functionality and comfort for modern living.

INMotIon. THE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE. Page IV/V

The future is now.Thomas Müller, the Grass Group’s Director of Technology and Development, on the electrification of furniture.

The beauty of movement, the desire for maximum comfort and personal lifestyle determine the trend towards electrification.

When asked what tomorrow’s lifestyle will look like, Thomas Müller initially replies with a philosophical view of the past: “Look at recent years, decades and centuries. The development of lifestyles and its acceleration give us a hint of what is possible within a very short time – things that hadn’t even been thought about yesterday have al-ready become reality today, and things we are yet to conceive of today will be standard tomorrow.” Opening up the subject, the visionary engineer points out that “not very long ago, people still lived in caves.” Müller mentions the much acclaimed film 'At the Beginning was the Fire'. The masterpiece by the French director Jean-Jacques Annaud gives a fantastic account of the life of stone-age people. While some of them seek shelter in caves and can only use the fire after lightning has struck and fires ensue, others already have huts to live in and use tools and lay fires themselves. “And in most cases,” says Thomas Müller, “technical achieve-ments have initially been viewed with scepticism and even condemned by traditionalists.”

the strong desire to shape one’s life and personal sphere. Until very recently most homes did not meet much more than the owner’s basic requirements. Only few people were able to afford luxuries that today are considered standard. “The extent of our prosperity led, and continues to lead, to yet other needs – the wish for even greater comfort, for an expression of status and personal lifestyle.” According to Müller, there is another driving force, in addition to these natural consumer needs: “It is the visionary designers and furniture makers as well as companies like ours – people who think creatively and take pleasure in the newness of things. To-gether with consumer demand, this inventor spirit drives the momentum of development.” As Thomas Müller suggests: “This is moving us forward towards electrification and electron-ics. And why should electronics, which

is bringing about huge changes in all spheres of life, not progress to the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom and the bathroom?”

the trend towards electrifi­cation and electronics will increase further. “As pioneers of electrically moved and electroni-cally controlled opening systems we very carefully watch consumer behav-iour and developments in the differ-ent markets. After all, this is also the reason why we are the only manu-facturer offering different movement systems that can be combined with each other. With the electrically aided Sensomatic opening system and the

electronically controlled Sensotronic slide system, we are meeting the de-mands of the markets and allowing differentiation and further develop-ment, step by step.” “By the way, we fully agree with our customers,” adds Thomas Müller. “The trend towards yet more comfort, towards electrifica-tion and electronics is advancing in all markets – faster in some segments and countries than in others. For that reason we are really looking forward to the next Eurocucina exhibition. In Milan, other individual applications of our electric opening systems will be presented by customers such as Allmilmö, Ballerina, Eggersmann, Häcker Kitchens and Warendorfer Kitchens.”

Uses as little energy as a sAt receiver. On the question of how an increasing ecological awareness will affect the trend, Director Müller says: “This also has to be assessed from the point of view of the different markets. There are few markets where the topic of energy conservation is as present as it is in Central Europe. But irrespec-tive of that, we consider it our own re-sponsibility to make careful use of re-sources. In this context it is really quite remarkable that the power required for

“We are the only manufac-turer to offer differentiation using two systems and a modular installation for wall cabinets.”

Thomas MüllerDirector of Technology and Development, GRASS Group

In February, this year’s industry event took place in Bad Salzuflen. And the ap-proximately 19,000 visitors found what they were looking for – numerous in-novations and trends as well as proven products.In Hall 19, the GRASS Group showed them how innovation, comfort and qual-ity can merge to produce unique cus-tomer benefits. The stand developed into a veritable magnet for the public. The primarily European trade visitors were inspired by the creative movement systems and the newly upgraded image of the GRASS brand.

Absolute highlights at the GRAss exhibition stand. Tiomos, the new hinge generation from GRASS, was the star of the show, as was to be expected. Bodo Uffelmann, who is GRASS Sales Director for Germany, is fond of remembering the many amazed and highly enthusiastic experts at the exhibition stand: “The complex mecha-nism concealed within the elegant and stylish exterior, the adjustable damper and the revolutionary kinematics never fail to surprise. Even old hands, who had seen much over the years, were amazed.”

visitors were impressed by product variety and range. With Quaturis Swing, GRASS celebrated a first at ZOW and added to the exten-sive range of high-quality corner cabinet systems. Naturally, GRASS also pre-sented the new and successful Dynapro concealed slide system at ZOW, which was only launched at the end of 2009. Bodo Uffelmann is clearly pleased about the feedback and the positive experi-

ences from his discussions: “In its appli-cation it shows how well Dynapro serves the trend for individual design in the fur-niture industry. Whether it is a matter of handle-less fronts, high fronts and wide drawers, the use of different and also heavy materials or perfect alignment – Dynapro meets the critical demands of manufacturers and their designers. In addition, its excellent running charac-teristics, made possible by its entirely unique, fully synchronised slide system, are a real benefit.” When asked whether the proven and much refined move-ment systems would fade into the back-ground in view of the many innovations by GRASS, Bodo Uffelmann comments: “Quite the contrary, new and existing product ranges complement each other to form a full range which is not easy to match. After all, what our customers want is variety within a comprehensive design concept. They want to use syn-ergies while at the same time creating something individual and special. That can best be achieved with a full range that has been designed for efficient fur-niture production.”

Much movement in the market. Bodo Uffelmann, who has been in the industry and a GRASS em-ployee for a long time, sees movement in the market: “Although the difficult year of 2009, with its economic prob-lems, has not yet been fully digested, many companies believe that economic growth is on its way, with increasing sales and demand. This cautious even if warranted optimism has resulted in higher order levels at the beginning of 2010. What helps us is the desire of many furniture makers, particularly

kitchen manufacturers, to differenti-ate themselves and stand out from the crowd. That is not new, but has never been as important as it is today, since upward pressure on the high-end product segment is on the increase.” As Bodo Uffelmann explains, GRASS provides the best possible answer: “With our new breadth of range and the most comprehensive programme of double-walled drawer systems, con-cealed slide systems, hinge systems, flap and corner cabinet systems, we provide manufacturers with variety within a system context. This allows manufacturers maximum external dif-ferentiation, and grading options within their own ranges and models.”

Quality has moved up on the agenda. “In order to last and have a sustained effect, differentiation needs to feature oustanding quality,” says Bodo Uffelmann. The Sales Director points out that this should continu-ally be impressed upon the consumer

as being the sum of all aspects of the furniture and movement systems – its design quality, functionality, comfort and longevity. “As yet, the furniture mar-ket is still governed by other rules than, for example, the fashion industry, but the risk of interchangeability and 'not being able to tell the difference' is on the increase – in the fashion industry,

“The interest shown by many large manufacturers confirms the image boost GRASS has achieved in the European market.”

Bodo UffelmannSales Director

Sales Director Bodo Uffelmann is pleased about the results from ZOW.

Quality has moved up on the agenda.

cheap suppliers present their product with well-known designers and classy models and thereby make life difficult for the quality brands. Unfortunately, the fact that one can find precious little quality in these short-lived models is often overlooked.”

Visitors looking for a comfortable solution for standard base cabinets found an answer at the GRASS exhibition stand at ZOW. Quaturis Swing adds another extremely functional facet to the already extensive range of high-quality corner cabinet systems from GRASS. With the help of a special swivel mechanism, the ergonomically formed shelves swing out almost completely from the corner cabinet, offering optimum access to the entire storage area. The fact that the shelf on the lowest level moves automatically when opening the door is not just beautiful to watch, but also makes its contents readily accessible. This makes loading and unloading the shelf easy. In addition, the closing process is extremely comfortable as all shelves swivel back when the cabinet door is closed. Needless to say, gently damped by Soft-Close.

the entire electrification of a kitchen’s opening systems is no more than that used by a satellite TV receiver in stand-by mode.”

the continuation of the modular concept in wall cabinets. With Sensomatic and Sensotronic in the base cabinet, GRASS meets consumer and manufac-turer demand for a holistic movement design combined with maximum func-tionality and comfort. Thomas Müller on the near future: “We will clearly con-tinue the electrification of wall cabinets with the modular technology that we have already tried and tested. We have reasons to believe that this demand is on the increase for wall cabinets. The main motive for this is the beauty of the movement, but also user-friendly ergonomics.”

Every corner is a curve.New ergonomics in the corner cabinet: Quaturis Swing.

Popular meeting point: GRASS at ZOW.

The complete range has been well received.

Plug & play for maximum comfort.New: Nova Pro Sensotronic in tall cabinets.

A tall cabinet with Sensotronic is not only extremely comfortable to use, but almost something like a status symbol. However, GRASS isn’t only thinking about the comfort of consumers, which is proven by the very easy ‘plug & play’ installation of the very few electronic components and the adaptability to each possible installation situation. It goes without saying that the Sensotronic tall cabinet can be fitted with all drawer and accessory systems of the Nova Pro standard range. But back to the consumers: it is really quite amazing how easily that heavy cabinet opens with just a gentle touch. A slight tug or push is enough. The stable and even movement and the gentle braking after opening and closing are just as beautiful. Everything moves as if by magic, totally automatic. The ergonomic and valuable design of the optional inner drawers provides perfect access to the stored items.

INMotIon. THE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE. Page VI/VII

Ticino, Switzerland. It is the 6th of January, 2010, 8 o’clock in the morning, and very cold. The sun will rise in a few minutes. Before us looms the huge Verzasca dam. A man stands on the edge of the dam and jumps: a 220-metre free-fall before the bungee rope catches him. The butterfly feeling gives way to adren-alin coursing through the body. We are at the location where the new GRASS cinema spot is being filmed. This time the leading actor is not the James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, but Laurin Tschohl, mechanical engineer-

ing technician in the fourth year of his apprenticeship at GRASS. The idea for the unusual spot is the result of col-laboration with the Shining Pictures film production company in Zurich. Producer Stefan Bircher sums it up in a few words: “On the topic of advertising for apprentices – why only focus on the compulsory side of their training if you can show the choices open to them? Because those who are familiar with the company and the people behind the name GRASS know that this is an unusual company with the courage

for new ideas.” You can view the spot yourself at www.ichundgrass.at

From apprentice to manager People with goals keep moving. For this reason, GRASS is promoting the indi-vidual capabilities of its apprentices, both in the technical and commercial fields. These young people are trained to become skilled and competent in their chosen careers. After one year of basic training, each apprentice will work in a number of different departments. 'Feel the Move' is the trendsetting motto in the young peo-ple’s song specifically composed for GRASS. While any sound training programme is aimed at skills and com-petence, GRASS does not stop there. The company offers incentives to mo-tivate employees to reach new goals. An apprenticeship with GRASS opens doors to many opportunities, such as vo cational A-levels, master crafts-man’s certificate and MBA courses.

GRAss employees are lead­ing players GRASS takes this mot-to very seriously. The company realised at an early stage: young, committed people are crucial for technical and design innovation. They are the cor-nerstone of customer-oriented thinking and commercial success in the future. Franz Reiner, Head of HR at GRASS, on training apprentices: “The success of a company depends on the competence and capability of its employees. That is why we at GRASS take the training of our apprentices so seriously. And this is also the reason why apprentices are recognised and appreciated from their first day at the company.” It is therefore not by chance that GRASS is recommended by the Chamber of Commerce, the Austrian Chamber of Labour and the Province of Vorarlberg as 'excellent training provider'.

GRASS apprentices – courageous people for challenging tasks.

GRASS apprentice Laurin Tschohl concentrates before his jump into the depths.

“An apprenticeship at GRASS is a leap into an unconventional company with exciting perspectives.”

Christoph WalterDirector of Finance and Administration GRASS Group

GRASS and the environment: behaving responsibly.

Frank Nessler, Sales and Marketing Di-rector of the GRASS Group, is known for not mincing his words, and he makes no exception when it comes to environ-mental awareness: “Industrial produc-tion and logistics use up energy and

On the road to environmental certification.

cause emissions; nobody should try and 'greenwash' this fact with flowery terms. Sustainability not only relates to respon-sibility for the environment, but also to economic and social responsibility.” And without trying to point a finger at others,

Frank Nessler says: “Today, everybody talks about 'going green' but very few ac-tually state where they stand, which tar-gets they have achieved and which they are yet to achieve. So let’s keep our feet on the ground and talk about concrete action.”

own natural gas power unit in Höchst. District heating at Götzis. One of the things Frank Nessler mentions is the eco-friendly power generation at the Höchst plant using a natural gas combined heating and power unit: “On that basis, GRASS has not only achieved a 60% reduction in heating requirements through heat recovery systems, but has also reduced CO

2 emissions by up to 70%.” By con-

necting up the district heating network at Götzis, GRASS has even become completely CO

2 neutral with respect to

heating – and has done so in a region where winter lasts for five months. At Höchst, 75% of the required energy is produced by the company, which is equivalent to 13,000 MWh of electricity and about 12,000 MWh of thermal energy.

Careful use of resources. GRASS’s approach to the environment can be seen and felt in many ways. For example, GRASS engineers make use of all opportunities in modern development and production technology for the imple-mentation of innovative product ideas. It goes without saying that only materi-als without hazardous or illegal contents are used. New coating technologies save up to 3,000 m3 of clean water every year compared to conventional processes. Collecting raw material waste and recy-cling 3,000 tonnes of scrap metal saves valuable resources.

GRAss’s environmental cer­tification is expected to be completed in 2010. Environmen-tal certification in accordance with ISO 14001 is currently in full swing. This means that all processes will be succes-sively converted to make better use of resources and protect the environment. “Our employees think 'green' not only at work, but also at home,” Frank Nessler is pleased to report: “Responsible use of resources is now common everywhere and, with our certification, we dem-onstrate our responsibility towards the environment, now and in the future.”

In free-fall upwards.

Jump into the future.

Imprint: Owner, editor and publisher: GRASS GmbH | A-6973 Höchst/Austria | Grass Platz 1 | www.grass.eu | Design: GRASS Marketing, Editors: die3 – PR Agency, www.die3.eu. Subject to printing errors.

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