Plank
39040 Ora (Bolzano)
Italy
Plank dates back more than a hundred years. Founded in 1893 by Karl Plank, the company has been handed down from father to son till today as is the tradition of the best Italian enterprises. Passed down first to Karl Jr. and then to his son Martin who since 1979 has been running it and, recently, has been helped by his son Michael, the company in this lapse of time has transformed itself from its artisan origins to an industrial enterprise. Today Plank's production makes use of sophisticated automation systems whenever this will allow an optimal balance between costs and the quality of the product; nevertheless some aspects of the workmanship, where manual ability is indispensable, remain artisanal.
The chairs produced by Plank are very different from one another. An ample range of articles for satisfying the demands of the market as much as possible, with particular attention, since Martin Plank has been in charge, to the design projects, to more meaningful products, more mindful of a harmonious combination of practicality and aesthetic value. Entirely or prevailingly made of wood, destined to different uses and spaces, they present themselves with the same essential quality, with a simplicity that is the essence of technological research correctly addressed to obtaining a formal and functional harmony and not just something theoretical.
Plank offers a modern product, because it corresponds to the desire of immediateness that the world today needs and, at the same time, capable of collecting the suggestions and influences of its own time. This does not mean tying itself to the day to day fashions, but rather corresponding to the personal tastes of some, if possible of many, for as long a time as possible. The Plank products do not need to be placed in homogeneous surroundings; rather, their vocation is that of cohabitation, of exchange, of the idea of modernity - a research through everyday use and aesthetics.