Walter Knoll

In 1865 Walter Knoll opened a leather shop in Stuttgart.

To begin with, he produced every sort of handmade seating furniture.

Carpenter, upholsterer and saddler abilities were required for these creations. He became the royal purveyor to the court to the Württemberg dynasty. In 1907 his sons Walter and Wilhelm took over the company and carried it on in the traditional way. But even so, both were looking for new ways of producing chairs, armchairs and sofas.

Through the influences of the Weimar Republic and the First World War, new, modern seating furniture was created, and distinguished itself by the use of colourful materials and a functional design. In 1921 Walter Knoll went to the United States for 4 years.

In 1925 Walter Knoll returned to found his own company, Walter Knoll & Co. GmbH.

In 1937 the company moved to Herrenberg. His son Hans also went to America and founded the company Knoll International before the Second World War.

Wilhelm Knoll used the furniture at the Stuttgarter Weißenhof settlement from 1927 as his model.

He exchanged springs and thick upholstery for elastic belts, thus achieving a higher level of comfort for his armchairs and sofas.

His light aluminium armchairs and chairs also set a trend and were used to furnish the Zeppelins.

In 1950, design production after the war resumed.

The first furniture exhibition fair in Cologne was a huge success for the company.

In 1964, Walter Knoll’s second son, Robert took over the management. New materials and processing techniques allowed curvy and organic looking shapes. Kidney-tables and shell seats became fashionable in the 50s.

In 1974, Knoll-furniture was represented at the Milan furniture fair for the first time. International orders followed. The furnishing style became more relaxed and lead to a more disorganized living area in the 80’s.

In 1975 the Lobby-Seating-System was created for the Tegel airport. The office furniture series Walter Knoll Office moved its way to the centre of production line.

In the mid 80s, Walter Knoll & Co. took over the company Wilhelm Knoll. In 1988 the office product line PRIMO came on the market.

In 1993 the family Rolf Benz took over the Walter Knoll company. Their son, Markus Benz took on the management. Modern and classic-timeless seating furniture was created on the base of traditional high quality.

Established classics and new, purist designs, which could be used in public and private areas, rounded off the product range in the mid 90s. In 2001 the first new production halls in Mötzingen, near Herrenberg were christened.

The buildings, by architect Hans Ulrich Benz, were awarded a prize for „ Exemplary building in the county of Böblingen“.

The sofa FOSTER, TOGETHER, NELSON and DRIFT are well-known design-suits by the Knoll-Benz cooperation.

The chairs and armchairs from the series TURTLE, HENRY, BOP and Gaston should also be mentioned. Many variations of these designer armchairs and chairs can be viewed and purchased in the Proformshop.

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