Furnishing the United Nations office in Geneva must be one of the most prestigious assignments that a furniture maker could hope for. The fact that such an assignment has gone to a small furniture company in Sweden is a fine tribute to Swedish craftsmanship.

Early in 2020 the good news was announced that Swedish company Swedese, in competition with the world’s leading furniture makers, had been commissioned to furnish parts of the UN office in Geneva. A truly prestigious assignment which will certainly lead to further large orders for both Swedese and the Swedish furniture industry in general.

With this refurbishment, the UN is moving away from a traditional office environment to a more modern workplace with many spontaneous meeting places. With its broad product range and extensive knowledge of public environments, Swedese is ideally suited to this type of interior design project.

A furniture company has a considerable advantage simply because it comes from Sweden. Sweden as a brand is strong and associated with many positive things such as quality, sustainability and equality.

“I think the reason the UN chose us was that we were very specific and had detailed answers to their very challenging questions and demands. Many rules on sustainability have been formulated by the UN and we have always worked hard to comply with them.”
Sonnie Byrling, CEO of Swedese

In Swedese’s case, they were able to prove that their work on sustainability, from materials and manufacturing to being a sustainable workplace for co-workers, was genuine and that they had made significant progress. Another reason for being awarded the contract was that they were able to be very specific and respond well to the UN’s demands and questions.

Entering into a procurement of this size was a formidable challenge and it took great daring for Swedese to step in and compete with the world’s leading furniture makers.

The procurement process has been demanding and has taught Swedese a great deal about how to succeed and win this type of contract. The fact that Sweden now has the opportunity to export furniture, from small Vaggeryd in Småland to Geneva and the UN headquarters, will certainly help the Swedish furniture industry to compete in future prestigious procurements.