The company Heymat from Mo i Rana is awarded the prestigious Red Dot award for product design. The product they won an award for is something as everyday as a doormat. – Traditionally, the door mat has been the product in the house that has the lowest status. Maybe that and the toilet brush, says Sonja Djønne, managing director and part owner of Heymat. Egil Sundet, head of industry in Norsk Industri Designindustrien and Teko industry association predicts export success for the door mat. – I think this award will be very important for further development in Heymat. SUSTAINABILITY: The surface of the product Zen is made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. The underside is made from 20 percent recycled materials. Photo: Heymat Export boom in Norwegian design The Norwegian design industry has a production value of over NOK 40 billion, and about half comes from exports. – We believe there are very good opportunities to further expand exports, says Sundet. Since 2018, the export of Norwegian design has increased by 50 per cent. – And so far this year, the growth continues, says Sundet. Egil Sundet, branch manager of Norsk Industri Designindustrien and Teko trade association Photo: Lokman Ghorbani / news Norway has several internationally recognized design brands. Such as Stressless, Flokk, Hadeland Glassverk, Swix and Madshus. Heymat is not the first Norwegian design company to win a Red Dot, but Sundet says that it is usually large, well-established companies that win the award. – I think it is absolutely fantastic that they have received this award. That such a small company succeeds in getting such an award and that honor and glory so early is a very rare occurrence. AWARD WINNER: The award-winning Zen door mat comes in three different colors and patterns, and has been developed for walkways and corridors. Photo: Heymat The government is betting on design The government’s aim is to increase Norwegian exports by 50 per cent by 2030, excluding oil and gas. In this work, they have launched the export reform “The whole of Norway exports”. Here they will point out several strategic national export ventures where they will fire off extra gunpowder. One investment area that will receive extra money this year is the design and finished goods industry. This is what Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) says. – Exactly how it will look and how much money the state will contribute, we will have to come back to towards the summer. But the decision has been made and the new national venture will be a design and finished product, says Vestre. He says the investment is about giving Norway more legs to look at – Heymat is a company I know well and cheer for, he says. The government is also putting forward another arrangement, according to Vestre. It gives export companies, such as Heymat, the opportunity to have up to 50 per cent of costs related to travel to fairs and exhibitions abroad covered. 20 million has been set aside for this, according to the Minister of Business. – We like everyone who thinks big. And the design and industrial goods industry has big plans for the future and we need more of that in Norway. The design world’s “Oscar” The idea for a functional and modern door mat came when Sonja Djønne and Thoralf Lian, chairman and part owner of Heymat, had an industrial mat in the hallway. – We saw that the quality of business mats was much higher than what you got on regular door mats, says Sonja Djønne. – But they didn’t look nice. Together they started the company Heymat, and launched their first collection in 2016. Now they win the design award for the product Zen – a square door mat with different patterns that can be expanded endlessly to fit different corridors and office landscapes. – It is the “Oscar” of the design world, as we see it. It is the one that hangs the highest, says Djønne. – It is very nice to win this award. BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL: Sonja Djønne wanted a doormat that was as beautiful as it was functional. That was the start for Heymat. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news Products that have won a Red Dot can advertise with this, which over time has become a kind of quality stamp. – Being able to put a Red Dot on the product is very important when we are betting internationally. It’s easier to get attention when you have such a prize with you, because it’s pretty tight at the door, says Djønne. – And then it means a lot in the heart. It is something we have worked hard for. The award ceremony will take place on 19 June in Essen, Germany.
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– It means a lot in the heart – news Nordland
