Manufacturing
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Rupert Marine
Rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) are tough, sea-worthy and flexible. Spotting their business potential, Thomas Rönnberg set up the first Swedish RIB company, Rupert Marine, and is now preparing for the European market.
Roots finder
Provenance is key as we turn our backs on mass-produced products. Consumers want authenticity and, as many companies have found, they’re happy to pay for it.
Techno tradition
Kyoto is the traditional home of Japanese artisans who make highly detailed ceramics and perfectly woven silks. That same set of skills has also helped it become the country’s hi-tech heartland.
Uniform approach
Outsourcing has a bad name but there’s a growing move for nations to outsource services. When properly harnessed, it could raise standards and redefine what makes a country. This is who we would employ.
Time is everything
In Honshu's forested mountains, Seiko's craftsmen hand-build the Grand Seiko with monastic precision, proving Japan's mechanical watchmaking rivals Switzerland's finest — one meticulous, unhurried component at a time.
Air to a fortune
Denmark is a pioneer in wind energy: some days the entire country is powered by it. Now LM Glasfiber, Danish maker of vast turbine blades, is helping convert the rest of the world.
Vinyl frontier
The Eklund family has made the world’s most desirable vinyl flooring for over half a century. Now their seasonal collections are winning praise from the worlds of fashion, architecture and design.
Step ahead
September’s footwear fair in Milan drew a record number of visitors. But while Italy exported 250 million pairs of shoes in 2006, output has fallen by 30 per cent since.
Making it together
There’s a growing awareness that proximity to production can help to keep standards high. We visit three firms to see how HQs with in-built factories are keeping staff engaged and improving products.
Clay pride
Spain’s northwestern coast is guarding a design secret, one that Monocle has decided to share. Sargadelos is a workers’ cooperative that has been producing exquisite ceramics on and off for 200 years.
