Added: Dec 31, 2009

From: skillsforchange

Duration: 5:30

Klaus Nienkämper (Entrepreneurship) Born in Duisburg, Germany, Klaus Nienkämper arrived in Canada in 1960 with $36 in his pocket and a language barrier to overcome. His first job was at a car wash on Torontos King Street. However, intent on making modern furniture, Klaus began working with respected designers and in 1968, with minimal capital, established a company that introduced classic European imports to the Canadian market. In the seventies and eighties Nienkämper became a licensed manufacturer for Swiss Design, DeSede and Knoll products. Today, The The Nienkamper Store occupies a restored historical building on King Street. Owned by Klaus since 1968, this furniture showroom initiated the transformation of a decaying neighbourhood into a design district. Since the nineties, Nienkämper has manufactured Canadian-designed furniture at a 120,000-sq.-ft. facility employing upwards of 220 individuals. Many are immigrants 40 nationalities are represented on the payroll. Toronto Star News ArticleNienkämper sells throughout Canada and has showrooms in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Also represented in Mexico, England and Hong Kong, the company has completed Middle East, Far East and European projects. Nienkämper furniture is coveted in boardrooms and offices of major corporations, and in homes. Special projects have included Prime Minister Pierre Trudeaus offices and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. The company has also created pieces commissioned for presentation to the Prince of Wales and the Aga Kahn. Nienkämper received Best of Canada Awards in 2001 and 2002 and a Federal Government Export Award in 2000. A 30-year Nienkämper retrospective, originating in Toronto in 1998, traveled to the Architectural Museum in Chicago and the Design Center in Dallas. Active in supporting and promoting the design community, Klaus has provided scholarship and capital funding to the Ontario College of Art Design, Ryerson University and the University of Torontos Faculty of Architecture.

Channel: Nonprofit

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