Framery is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, but in many ways, it is just getting started, according to the company’s co-founder and chief executive. Framery is the first company to commercialize the office pod in 2010 and since that time, they have become an increasingly important part of nearly every office design.
Office pods are no longer a novelty. They are part of the fabric of the modern office. And Framery products continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of the workplace, according to Samu Hällfors, who sat down with officeinsight magazine to talk about the company’s past, present and future plans.
Like waves on the shore, Framery’s growth continues around the world. The company’s success that started in Northern Europe, where the company and its products were born, has continued around the world.
“It’s happening in Central Europe, it’s happening in London, it’s happening in Middle East, in Asia-Pacific. It’s happening in the U.S. Pods are becoming popular and they are being utilized in different spaces with different needs. The (growth of the pod market) seemingly follows the same kind of route (around the world). The timing is just different. And what we are seeing, especially in the U.S., is that the growth has just begun.”
There are a number of factors driving that growth around the world. Offices have become louder as they have become more open. Office designs following the pandemic have continued the trend of open offices and more casual workspaces, meaning there is an ever-greater need for spaces that are private and quiet.
Framery has built a solid reputation in the design community for creating pods that actually deliver on their promise of privacy. That’s what Hällfors said sets Framery apart from the 200 or so pod manufacturers active in the market today. The pod market has grown rapidly in recent years, but last year, more companies exited the market for pods than entered it. The pod market is stabilizing after years of break-neck growth.
“Our differentiator has always been the ability to combine the ventilation and acoustics to a level that is still unmatched,” said Hällfors. “What is said inside (a Framery pod) cannot be heard outside.”
Though Framery was instrumental in developing the pod category with its phone booth like Framery One, the company has developed several new products in recent years that provide the same sound and comfort, but for more users. The Framery Four and Framery Six allow for up to four or six people respectively.
And the company has developed a host of technology and accessory products to make the Framery pods even more useful. Framery Connect is a digital workplace management tool that helps offices manage and develop workplace space usage using real data. It helps offices track their space inventory on a single platform. Framery Connect Sensors utilize innovative sensor technology to deliver real-time usage data anywhere in the office to get anonymous occupancy data that can be used for better workplace management and development. The Framery App helps with space booking, whether you need a pod for a quick call or a room for a brainstorming session. The Framery App makes finding and reserving space easy. The Framery Room Display is a meeting room booking system that shows real-time availability for Framery pods and office spaces. Workers can reserve, view and adjust bookings for boardrooms, conference rooms, office booths and pods, and any other meeting space on the spot.
The company has also designed new products to be used for longer work session. Even its smallest products can be used comfortably for hours of work. At the same time, it has launched products that are less expensive than some of its previous models.
“We took a step down in the price range in order to provide products that are accessible for any company to utilize these products,” said Hällfors. “Something that we will continue to consider is how we make our products even more suitable for our customers in long run — the same level of privacy and also the quality of the environment while still putting it in acceptable price range for any kind of customer.”
Framery is continuing to listen to the design community as well. He said architects and designers have asked for help in utilizing the space around the Framery products. Framery responding by introducing features that allow designers to create gather zones outside the pods. This allows for the space around the pods to be utilized — to create additional workspace around the products. The larger four- and six-person pods were created after designers asked for them (along with pods that allow for access by people with disabilities). Framery is also adding new materials and colors in response to designer requests.
Framery has always focused on its core competencies — creating pods and technology that help workers comfortably focus. In fact, that’s how the company got its start. Hällfors and Vesa-Matti Marjamaki, a pair of engineers in Tampere, Finland, were working with a person in an open office who was really, really loud and they could not concentrate on their work. The coworker was aware that he was distracting, so he told the pair to get him a phone booth to work in.
Hällfors and Marjamaki did just that. And they found they weren’t alone — many people working in open offices are distracted by loud coworkers. After tweaking the initial phone booth concept, a company was born in 2010 called Framery. As the company and product evolved, Hällfors and Marjamaki found that the problem stretched beyond Tampere, a town two hours north of Helsinki. They discovered noisy offices are a global problem so over the past 15 years, they have launched Framery around the world to great success.
Could that lead to other office furniture beyond the pod? Never say never, said Hällfors, but the company’s strategy has always been to concentrate the things that they are really good at. “Not to say that we wouldn’t at some point want to create something other than just pods,” he added. “We are considering (creating) other kinds of furniture not related to pods. I would say that’s not going to happen in the short term since we want to concentrate on the things that we can do best. I think that there are a lot of players that are better than us at building desks.”