Under the slogan “FOREVER YOUNG,” OBJECT CARPET is celebrating its 50th anniversary on September 15, 2022 at the company’s transparent manufacturing facility in Krefeld. Its success story – already spanning half a century – is built on innovative ideas, entrepreneurial flair, clever networking and clearly communicated corporate values. History and future are inextricably linked and mutually dependent, as evidenced first and foremost by the management of the company, which has since been transferred from its founder Roland Butz to his son Daniel Butz. The carpet specialist has succeeded in combining the environmental requirements of modern society with its original quality standards, not least by optimizing and further developing the possibilities opened up by technology.
Always at the cutting edge thanks to our spirit of innovation
With the founding of OBJECT CARPET in 1972, textile engineer Roland Butz resolved to serve a previously neglected niche: the company was to specialize in the production of carpets for the commercial property sector, particularly those which met the special requirements of hotels and offices and broke new ground in terms of color designs. Butz combined everyday practicality with visual appeal, showcasing the company’s creations using artistic product photography. The carpets gained notoriety by providing a stage for the greats of the time. In the 1980s, a host of famous personalities posed on them, including national stars like Wolfgang Joop, Claudia Schiffer, and Henry Maske, and international artists and personalities, such as Barry White, Julian Schnabel, Louise Bourgeois, Azzedine Alaïa, the Hells Angels, the Scorpions, and Calvin Klein – snapped by world-renowned photographers, including Helmut Newton, Michel Comte, and Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
In an effort to ensure that his carpets also fulfilled fundamental interior design requirements, Roland Butz worked closely with designers and architects from the word go. He realized that the relationship between carpets and interior design and design principles was the key ingredient when it came to giving spaces a unique identity. This was a principle that would later be shared by his son and soon-to-be CEO successor Daniel Butz: both back in 2006 and 12 years later in his role as Managing Director, he featured a series of up-and-coming architects in a roadshow photo project that turned the spotlight on their personal résumés. Each architect championed their favorite carpet – and later in 2018, the very same architects would mentor a host of promising fresh faces, working together to solve an impromptu architectural conundrum. To mark the occasion, OBJECT CARPET bridged the gap between the generations and used archive photos to create a link between the architects’ young selves and their work today.
An industry trendsetter throughout the ages
The celebration of OBJECT CARPET’s milestone anniversary is also set to focus on intergenerational exchange. The company has set the course for sustainable and forward-thinking solutions, combining the new with the tried and tested and giving concrete form to new visions. By actively involving young players and fresh ideas, the textile flooring manufacturer is able to point the way to the future of interior design. FOREVER YOUNG, the slogan for this historic anniversary, already conveys the constant dialogue between the generations at OBJECT CARPET on all levels. The team has succeeded in transferring its unifying values of individuality, design, and environmental awareness into the here and now and applying them to new challenges.
Just as the ethos of the premium carpet manufacturer is still just as relevant today as it was all those years ago, the materials used also show no signs of being past their best. In keeping with the principle of the recycling economy, OBJECT CARPET has developed the first fully recyclable carpet in cooperation with NIAGA®. Made from the mono-material polyester, the carpet lives on in an infinite number of lifecycles. The company had the issues of sustainability and reuse in mind as early as the product design phase of its circular carpet: thanks to the recycling process, the condition of the material always remains as good as new, without compromising on quality. Here, the FOREVER YOUNG maxim is based on the perception that raw materials are not waste, but instead a valuable commodity made of clean, circular materials – which can be used to create future products. And the wait is almost over, as the first fully recycled carpet is set to be launched on the market this coming January. But even at the upcoming FOREVER YOUNG anniversary celebrations, guests will be given a sneak preview of the revolutionary product and will have the opportunity to inspect the sustainable “transparent production” process.
With its ZERO WASTE – ENDLESS LIFE approach, the company is demonstrating that it is investing in the future and generations to come. Our top priority is to always keep pace with the times. The best is yet to come!
