When Swedish chocolatier Efraim Ljung travelled from Malmö to Chicago on a business trip in 1926, he had no idea that his life was about to change. Efraim Ljung suffered from rheumatism, which often led to trouble sleeping. But as he woke

up that first morning in the hotel room in Chicago, he found that he had slept like a log. Such was his surprise that he took out his penknife, cut open the mattress to study it more closely, and discovered a clever system of steel springs. And right there, he decided to change career paths, from chocolatier to producer of exclusive beds. DUX – which means “leader” in Latin – was born.

Since its inception nearly a century ago, DUX has prioritised durability and sustainability to create beds and furniture of the outmost quality, remaining com-mitted to the excellent materials provided by nature. Sustainability is not only something that DUX strives for, but a value rooted deep in the company’s DNA.

A DUX bed is made out of a unique system of springs – the DUX Interlocking Spring System – that

was developed in 1926 and has been continuously refined ever since. The steel, the wooden frame, and the base slats are all produced in Sweden, with all wooden parts made from close-grained pine from the Northern parts of Sweden, where cold winters produce slow-growing trees with close-grained, strong and durable wood. DUX then adds the specially developed and patented mattress pads, using only the absolute best materials in all sub-components.

The complete DUX formula, however, remains a well-kept secret. Charlotte Ljung, Efraim Ljung’s great-granddaughter and CEO of DUX Nordic, explains, “Our philosophy can be summed up in a concept that we know better than anybody else: comfort. Unbeatable comfort. ”We have always strived to go beyond premium.” Nobody else has our experience and knowledge of bed-making. It is our heritage, our present and our future.”

This philosophy is a key reason behind the compa-ny’s focus on controlling the entire value chain, from production to sale. After all, that is what it takes to live up to Efraim Ljung’s original vision: “Our beds should be the world’s greatest place for recovery.”

THE DUXJOURNEY

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Over 90 years later, the premium Swedish brand is still 100% family-owned. Efraim Ljung’s four great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Henrik, Anders and Oscar – the fourth generation of the Ljung fam-ily – have readily assumed Efraim’s role, expertly running the company along the path set forth by their ancestors.

DUX is now a global player within the beds category and has a franchise-based retail chain of 70 DUXI-ANA shops spread over 24 countries and four DUX-IANA hotels. DUX also manufactures a collection of furniture designed by Bruno Mattsson, one of the most renowned furniture designer and architect to come out of Sweden.

A FAMILYAFFAIR

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DUX has developed and produced premium quality mattresses since the company’s inception in 1926. The DUX High-Performance Sleep Systems are the result of nine decades of research and testing and use technology based on an encyclopaedic understanding of sleep mechanics. Through the years, the company has collaborated with leading sleep scientists, gaining an extensive knowledge of sleep – and the impor-tance of a good night’s sleep to good health.

At the core of every DUX mattress is a remarkably engineered system whose spring components are pre-cisely calibrated and configured to accommodate the size, shape and weight of its user. Every DUX bed is designed to provide correct sleep posture, a position where the spine is perpendicular to the hips, allowing the muscles in the lower back to completely relax. The result is measurable: sleep studies have proven that DUX users not only fall asleep faster, but also enjoy an extra hour of deep sleep — the only sleep stage where the body’s immune system and muscle groups heal and repair themselves.

SLEEPINVESTIGATORS

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The superiority of a DUX bed is well known to many, but the fact that DUX is also one of Sweden’s most successful manufacturers of furniture with a unique design history is unknown to most – at least outside of Sweden. In the early 1960s, the Ljung family formed a close relationship with Sweden’s most accomplished furniture designer and architect, Bruno Mattsson, and became the sole manufacturer of several of Mattsson’s designs, including the Per-nilla, Karin and Jetson chairs. To this day, Mattsson’s original drawings and sketches can be seen at the

DUX factory archives, which have become a veritable Mecca for design lovers.

DUX has owned the factory, which is situated in the village of Sösdala in the Northern part of Skåne, since the 1940s. Bruno Mattsson’s furniture and the rest of DUX’s furniture collection are still assembled here to this day, and it is also in Sösdala that the company experiments and tests new ideas. The place is brimming with the singular DUX spirit that the current owners – the four great-grandchildren – cherish zealously.

SWEDISH DESIGNHISTORY

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From Efraim Ljung’s journey across the Atlantic in 1926 to the company’s continuous focus on innova-tion and product development though nine decades, DUX has demonstrated that travel and a continual push for progress are essential to its DNA. Today, the story continues worldwide with not only a long list of celebrity clients who only sleep in a DUX, but also over 150 of the world’s most prestigious hotels that spoil their guests with DUX beds. Among those are the seven-star Burj Al Arab in Dubai, The Surrey in New York, the Hotel d’Angleterre in Copenhagen, and the Nobis Hotel in Stockholm.

In 2017, DUX has taken yet another big step into the future with a partnership with one of Sweden’s top design and architecture firms, Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Launched at the 2017 Stockholm Furniture Fair, Claes-son Koivisto Rune’s new furniture collection for DUX features five new designs with clear classic potential.

For further information on DUX, images or other information about the company, please contact:

The JournalRikke GladM: rikke@thejournal.nuM: +45 2390 3210 DUX Nordic ABAnna Mohlin M: anna.mohlin@dux.se+46 733 85 79 83

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