Italian design company Arper invests in innovative R&D centre

The Lab space will extend over an area of 1400 square meters, in addition to the existing 300 square meters occupied by the Technical Offices and Test Laboratory. It will bring the space for innovation in the Arper HQ to 1700 square meters.

The Arper Design Lab will be a multifunctional space, where the most crucial phases of the development of product collections, the beating heart of the design company, will be carefully curated. Definition, design, development and market launch of the new collections will be managed in-house, thanks to the Design Lab, which will allow the company to optimize and speed up its approach to the international markets.

The Design Lab will feature a new prototype laboratory, which will allow the creation and industrialization of product samples, a material library with an always-updated selection of materials, fabrics and leathers, and spaces for training and for discussion with designers and creatives. Finally, an equipped photo studio will allow the creation of photographic and video services to support communication.

The Design Lab will be dedicated to Luigi Feltrin, who founded Arper in 1989, together with his sons Mauro and Claudio, the latter current president and CEO of the Group. Luigi Feltrin passed away in April 2020, leaving behind a great passion for the "know-how", and an unshakable determination to always create, build and evolve values that are embodied in this ambitious project.

The Arper Design Lab will be built in a sustainable manner, through the recovery of the existing building. The interventions on the structure and systems will determine the energy requalification. With this project, Arper renews its commitment to the goal of becoming a sustainable company. The path, started in 2005 through the creation of an internal environmental department, goes in the direction of implementing sustainable product and process solutions, through the construction of a shared sustainability culture.

Claudio Feltrin comments: “Sustainability is a strategic goal. Ambitious visions and actions, and organizational and cultural changes are the fundamental conditions for the evolution of a company that is committed to adopt and make sustainable processes, production and collections.

Although the year has been difficult for the entire contract sector, Arper, thanks to its management policy that has always been careful and conscientious, is today financially healthy and capable of giving positive signals, even in unfavorable contexts. For this reason, the company has decided to invest in the expansion of the Research & Development department, which will enhance Arper’s development abilities and help them become even more competitive in the global market.

“The investment will help Arper reduce the time needed to present new products to the market and anticipate trends, test the aesthetic and qualitative efficiency of the new collections. In addition, it will also reduce the time required to obtain international certifications, an essential requirement to compete in different areas of the world." The works began in early December and are expected to finish within the first half of 2021.