Okinlab
Million promotion for design furniture platform

The young German design platform form.bar receives powerful support: With around two million euros, the European Union is supporting the already award-winning Saarbrücken start-up Okinlab, which offers its customers easy-to-use form.bar software (www.form. bar) regionally produced furniture made to measure climate-friendly and can offer at affordable prices. The special feature here is the decentralized manufacturing principle 4.0 in conjunction with the free configurability through intelligent, natural form finding.

The rare funding for Germany under the Horizon 2020 EU program will use the team led by founders Nikolas Feth and Alessandro Quaranta to further optimize the unique design-to-production process and drive internationalization. "Over the next five years, we want to become the leading platform for custom furniture design and furniture manufacturing in Europe," says Quaranta.

Specifically, form.bar is planning to increase its annual sales tenfold and its existing Schreiner network, which according to form.bar is already the largest in Germany today. "With this ambitious plan, we want to get even closer to our customers and thus shorten transport routes, protect the environment and increase added value in the regions," explains the founder. "It is precisely this sustainability that makes the concept of form.bar so special and valuable. And without the excellent work of the many local carpenters and carpenters, our success would not be possible either. "

Horizon 2020 is the European Union's Framework Program for Research and Innovation and aims to build a knowledge and innovation-driven society and a competitive economy across the EU, while contributing to sustainable development and creating sustainable jobs in Europe.

In a multi-stage selection process, in which Okinlab was supported by the consulting firm Dorucon, the Saarland had to prevail against some 2,000 competitors and end up in front of a jury of experts in Brussels; As a rule, less than four percent of applications are granted. In addition to Okinlab, cancer researchers and Parkinson researchers and a project for more effective data encryption were promoted in the recent round.