Kettal celebrates 50th anniversary
This year, Kettal will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1966 by Manuel Alorda, Kettal has continually produced some of the furniture industry’s most striking, endearing and innovative products. Today, Kettal works with a selection of the most important names in design to provide creative, functional and expressive pieces.
With the release of Terrain, a new range of colour options to accompany its Bitta seating family, Kettal again demonstrates the extensively customisable nature of its products, highlighting the brand’s longstanding mission to create solutions for evolving design trends. Alexander Alorda, current director of Kettal and son of Manuel, spoke to Sleeper about the brand’s history, its work with designers and the future of the brand.
Based in Barcelona, Kettal has expanded over five decades to include a manufacturing plant in Tarragona, stores in Barcelona, Marbella, Paris, London and Miami, and is now present in over 60 countries. A global brand with an inherently Catalonian style, “It is important that these products have both a long life cycle, and wear in a good way,” comments Alorda.
For 50 years Kettal has made bold statements in the context of its designs, and through collaborations with names including Patricia Urquiola, Rodolfo Dordoni, Hella Jongerlius, Jasper Morrison and Emiliana Design Studio, the brand has worked tirelessly to create products that aim to “make a difference to the industry we work in,” he continues.
Predominantly working with aluminium, a team of skilled engineers and manufacturers, in collaboration with the in-house design team Kettal Studio, strive to craft furniture that brings together pleasing aesthetics with functionally and durability. The Kettal Studio has produced a selection of milestone products in outdoor furniture design, with popular ranges Bambú, Mondral, Maia and Park Life contributing distinctive visual ideas to the medium, and as Alex notes, each “representing a change in direction” for the company.
Following the acquisition of brands Hugonet y Triconfort in the early 2000s, Grupo Kettal was formed, which further solidified Kettal’s position at the forefront of the industry. Now, it may be “a completely different approach, and a completely different company,” but nonetheless Kettal still aims to offer the same high level of design and product quality that has long been its focus.
Looking to the future, Alex hopes that “people continue to appreciate the great designs and enjoy our projects,” and that Kettal remains in the Alorda family for years to come.
