The foundations for the Dauphin company were laid in 1968. At the time, founder and owner Friedrich-Wilhelm Dauphin was providing business consultancy services to the English office chair manufacturer Evertaut. He carried out a market analysis into the prospects and opportunities for Evertaut’s German subsidiary (Norf near Düsseldorf). Although Dauphin concluded that the company had a promising future, his client Evertaut was not convinced. Dauphin therefore made a spur-of-the-moment decision and bought the company’s German operations himself. That same year, he started importing and distributing Evertaut chairs under the company name “Evertaut International”. Two years later, the company was renamed “Friedrich-W. Dauphin, Alleinimporteur Evertaut International”.

After a short spell in Oberroden near Frankfurt (production), the company’s head office was moved to Offenhausen in 1973. It was in this small village between Altdorf and Hersbruck near Nuremberg that he built his first plant. The original plant was then extended over the course of the years.

As part of efforts to establish the company’s own value added chain, two additional production sites for seat mechanisms and upholstery were set up in the 80s and 90s. Established in 1993, Dauphin Components manufactures mainly mechanisms for seating and other components in Pößneck, Thuringia. Artifex Büromöbel GmbH is a competent supplier of upholstery for all of the Dauphin Group companies. The company’s headquarters are in Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg. The company also has a branch in Günzburg. Both supply companies are 100% owned by the holding company and cover on a value basis approximately 50% of total procurement volume.

With headquarters in Hersbruck, Dauphin Entwicklungs- und Beteiligungs GmbH focuses on research and development projects. The designs are produced by the design team, sometimes working together with external designers. At the moment Dauphin holds over 73 utility models and patent applications throughout the world. The company has also lodged another 175 applications for aesthetic models and design patents as well as 118 trademark applications.

The family business has been under the umbrella of the “Dauphin office interiors GmbH & Co. KG” holding company since 1992. In addition to the Dauphin brand, two further chair firms came under the control of the holding company in the 90s: Trendoffice (formerly based in Günzburg) and Züco Bürositzmöbel AG based in Rebstein, Switzerland. With three independent brands, the Dauphin Group is firmly established in the facility seating market.

Züco is a traditional manufacturer of furniture for public areas. Bold design, the most exclusive materials and hand-made Swiss quality are what make its chair and table ranges so successful.
And the Office chairs of Trendoffice reflect an uncomplicated lifestyle. Fresh ideas, design freedom and creative materials result in value-for-money products which are ideal for use in modern, cheerful office environments.

Acquisition of Bosse: Likewise in 1992, the group once again tapped into the market for room structuring systems through its subsidiary Bosse Design based in Höxter. Thanks to Bosse, a specialist for versatile room dividing systems for use in conjunction with mobile storage and workstation solutions, Dauphin Holding has since established itself as a competent provider of complete office solutions. Following its takeover of the modular furniture manufacturer MRD in spring 2002, the company further expanded its range of products in this segment by adding the versatile “modul space” office furniture programme. This opens infinite combinations according to the motto: one idea. 1000 possibilites.

In 1999, nearly 15 years ago, the Dauphins became aware of the “Mere Rust” wine farm in the Franschhoeck Valley during one of their countless business trips to South Africa. After careful consideration, they bought the farm (to this day approx. 135 ha after land acquisition) and renamed it Allée Bleue, i.e. “blue alley”. The name refers to the driveway leading to the farm which is lined by blue eucalyptus trees.

The Allée Bleue Pinotage red wine won double gold at its first ever competition (Veritas Award 2002, South Africa): 2001 Pinotage “Allée Bleue”, with powerful aroma. This was to be the first of many awards. Fruit, herbs and olives are also grown and successfully marketed.

“Allée Bleue Estate” is more than just a vineyard. The romantic backdrop is also the ideal setting for wedding receptions for example. Up to two weddings are celebrated there virtually every weekend of the year. In addition to the large banquet/ball room known as “Le Grand Hall” (approx. 400 people), the Allée Bleue Bistro and the Boutique Hotel which is currently under construction, there are two high-tech conference rooms. Allée Bleue therefore offers a stylish backdrop not only for private celebrations such as weddings or birthdays but also for sophisticated business events such as meetings, seminars and conferences.

In autumn 2002, the Offenhausen-based company bundled together the sales, marketing and consultancy expertise of its Bosse, Trendoffice and Züco subsidiaries to form the Dauphin HumanDesign® Group (DHDG). This has ensured that the group can operate according to its holistic HumanDesign® philosophy and offer complete solutions for the entire office and facility sector.

The high-quality chair programmes from Dauphin and Züco, the dynamic, trendy range of seating from Trendoffice, and the modern, well-thought-out room-design and office-furniture systems from Bosse are at the centre of the DHDG’s activities. The result is a configurable complete range of furniture for creating contemporary, user-oriented and systematic office landscapes. After all, a workplace is not a collection of individual parts – it must form a harmonious unit. The Dauphin HumanDesign® Group aims to offer products and solutions that achieve this objective.

As part of brand consolidation to form the Dauphin HumanDesign® Group, chair production for the Trendoffice brand was moved from Günzburg to the main Offenhausen plant on 01.01.2004. Since then, the Günzburg plant has served as an additional production site for the Artifex Büromöbel GmbH upholstery company, another subsidiary of Dauphin Holding.

With 18 sales and production companies in Germany and abroad as well as numerous licensees and representatives in 81 countries, the Dauphin Group is one of the leading office seating manufacturers in Europe. The company has 612 members of staff across the world and achieved a consolidated turnover of 120 million euros in 2023. On average, 1,400 chairs per day are produced at the group’s production facilities around the world.

Thanks to sales branches in Australia, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands/Belgium, the Dauphin Group has a global presence. Numerous other countries are covered either by local licensees or country representatives (distributors).

In addition to the German production sites, the Holding owns a branch in the USA that produces and markets selected products.

Dauphin has a traditionally strong position in Germany. Exports account for 31 percent of consolidated total turnover (2023). A consistent policy of internationalization aims at strengthening the position of all brands in the European countries and abroad.