The fact that a down-to-earth furniture manufacturer managed to create one of the great German furniture brands, one that almost one out of two Germans are familiar with, is one thing. That this success can be credited to an ambitious design strategy, is another. Coincidence had something to do with both aspects.

A cabinet with endless possibilities

The company founded by the Lübke brothers from the Westphalian town of Wiedenbrück, originally specializing under the name Gebrüder Lübke in high-polish bedroom suites, discovered in Leo Lübke a visionary entrepreneur who already ventured to bring in a modernist back in the 1950s: Michael Bayer, a university lecturer in the neighbouring town of Detmold. Bayer first revised the corporate identity, and then the entire product range. His comprehensive Interlübke furniture system ultimately gave the company a new and memorable brand name. The next decisive step was taken at the beginning of the 1960s, when the endless cabinet system SL (by Team Form) gave the eastern Westphalia company its ticket onto the international stage.