Industry Spotlight: Dupo
The Dutch family-owned company Dupo supplies businesses in the furniture industry with clever details that make furniture stand steadily, glide smoothly, or roll easily. Marc Schutten, Dupo’s sales-oriented CEO, explains that they don’t seek customers who want their products; it’s the other way around. Dupo develops and manufactures products that meet their customers’ needs.
“We have our own R&D department where we can test and develop product solutions that meet our customers’ requirements. For us, it’s about building a long-term partnership with our customers. This usually leads to the question of whether we can manufacture what the customer needs ourselves or if we need to buy the product from someone else.”
Focus on reduced energy consumption
Dupo works with Agenda 2030 as its goal. The company has, among other things, invested in new energy-efficient injection molding machines, but the work doesn’t stop there. Marc elaborates: “We actively work on reducing our own energy consumption. This involves both big and small changes. Everything we do is done with the aim of reducing our own carbon footprint. And it works because, despite a 20% increase in production, we haven’t consumed more energy than before.”
Another ongoing project is energy from solar panels. Although they encountered an unexpected obstacle. Marc Schutten, CEO at Dupo, explains: “The plan was to cover the roof of our largest warehouse with solar panels, but unfortunately, it turned out that the roof construction wasn’t strong enough. We had to develop an alternative solution, and that’s why we’re installing a side structure with around 250 solar panels. When this is operational, energy consumption will further decrease by 35%.”
From industrial wheels to furniture wheels
During Dupo’s 50-year history, the company has acted as a wheel distributor for 30 years. The product offering has evolved over time. “In the beginning, we only sold industrial wheels. We still have them in our assortment, but today, it’s primarily wheels for the furniture industry that dominate.”
30 years of collaboration with Swede-Wheel
Dupo’s product portfolio consists of a mix of in-house products and products manufactured by suppliers. Swede-Wheel is one of these suppliers. “Swede-Wheel has always listened to our requests, and together we have developed high-quality castors. In fact, we rarely receive complaints about them.”
The collaboration between Swede-Wheel and Dupo has resulted in Dupo becoming an official Benelux distributor for Swede-Wheel, even though Dupo’s market for its products also includes Germany and Poland. Dupo has one collaboration with Swede-Wheel that stands out. It’s a small inline castor for dining chairs. Marc elaborates: “We initially sold the black inline castor to one customer, but today we sell them to many. We have sold 800,000 inline castors in the last five years.”
In addition to various types of wheels, Dupo also offers in-house-manufactured plastic components that allow furniture to glide smoothly or stand firmly.