Wini Büromöbel

WINI Büromöbel Georg Schmidt GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of office furniture headquartered in Marienau in the Landkreis Hameln-Pyrmont, Lower Saxony. The company traces its origins to 1908, when Wilhelm Niemeier founded a woodturning workshop in Duingen, Lower Saxony. The brand name "Wini" is derived from the initials of the founder, Wilhelm Niemeier. Over the decades the business evolved from a woodware factory into one of Germany's leading producers of school and office furniture, and today it remains in family ownership in its fourth generation. WINI develops and manufactures desk systems, reception furniture, conference modules, electrically height-adjustable sit-stand desks, mobile folding tables, and modular cabinet and shelving systems. Its product portfolio is marketed under the WINEA brand family, which includes lines such as WINEA PRO, WINEA STARTUP 2.0, WINEA ELEMENTS, WINEA MAXX and WINEA FLEX UP. The company positions itself as a manufacturer of "individuelle Büromöbel vom Hersteller" — individual office furniture directly from the maker — with a strong emphasis on "Made in Germany" production, ergonomics, modularity and design. In recent years WINI has continued to refresh and expand its range. The WINEA STARTUP 2.0 sit-stand desk received a technical update in 2025 with new colours, more configuration options and additional accessories, and is presented as a benchmark for price-attractive ergonomic desks. The WINEA MAXX modular shelving system was introduced as a flexible solution for storage, room division and middle zones in open-plan offices. In 2025, WINEA ELEMENTS and WINEA FLEX UP whiteboards both received German Design Awards, recognising their flexibility, functionality and use of materials with a high recycled content. The company's history includes both growth and adversity. After the Second World War it benefited from reconstruction and became a leading German manufacturer of school and office furniture, with branch plants in Drakenburg, Braunschweig and Marienau and a workforce of more than 1,600 about four decades after founding. The Marienau plant went bankrupt in 1953 and was acquired by Georg Schmidt, who later bought the WINI brand rights in 1967 when the Duingen-based WINI Group faced ruin, forming the company in its present shape from the remaining Drakenburg and Marienau sites. Since 1985 management has been in the hands of the third family generation, Carolina Schmidt-Karsch and her husband Hans F. Karsch. Today WINI remains a private, family-owned business serving the German and wider European office furniture market.

The history of WINI Büromöbel begins in 1908, when Wilhelm Niemeier, a trained woodturner, founded a woodturning workshop in Duingen, Lower Saxony, at the age of 27. After returning from the First World War as a soldier, Niemeier steadily expanded the operation into a woodware factory. From 1926 the company traded as "Wilhelm Niemeier, Duinger Holzwarenfabrik, Holzhandlung". Among other products it manufactured garden arbours, for which the short name "Wini" was in use by 1933 at the latest. During the Second World War the company employed civilian forced labourers, as documented by post-war records of the North Rhine-Westphalian labour ministry. In post-war Germany the business benefited from reconstruction and developed into a leading German manufacturer of school and office furniture. With branch plants in Drakenburg, Braunschweig and Marienau — the present headquarters — Niemeier expanded the WINI Group, whose workforce numbered more than 1,600 about four decades after its founding. In 1953 the Marienau branch plant filed for bankruptcy. The site was acquired at auction by Georg Schmidt, who after the Second World War had worked at Wini in Duingen as production manager. With his wife Minna, the adopted daughter of Lina and Wilhelm Niemeier, he founded the "ITH-Möbelfabrik" in 1956. Besides gymnastics and residential furniture, it initially produced fitted kitchens and suspended ceilings for the prefabricated-house builder Okal. From 1960 the entrepreneur resumed production of school and office furniture. When the Duingen-based WINI Group faced ruin in 1967, Schmidt bought the brand rights to "WINI" and formed the company in its present shape from the remaining Drakenburg and Marienau sites. Since 1985 management has been in the hands of the third family generation: Carolina Schmidt-Karsch, daughter of Minna and Georg Schmidt, and her husband Hans F. Karsch. The company is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. In 2008 the 100th anniversary was marked with the publication "100 Jahre WINI Büromöbel" (Coppenbrügge 2008). Product development has continued in recent decades. The WINEA PRO desk system received the red dot award: product design in 2010. More recently, WINI has expanded its WINEA brand family with the WINEA STARTUP 2.0 sit-stand desk (relaunched with a 2025 technical update), the WINEA MAXX modular shelving system for storage and room division, and the WINEA ELEMENTS modular furniture system and WINEA FLEX UP whiteboards, both of which won German Design Awards in 2025. The company continues to manufacture in Germany and remains a private, family-owned business headquartered in Marienau.

• 2025

  WINEA ELEMENTS and WINEA FLEX UP whiteboards win German Design Awards; WINEA STARTUP 2.0 relaunched with technical update.

• 2010

  WINEA PRO desk system receives the red dot award: product design.

• 2008

  100th anniversary marked with the publication "100 Jahre WINI Büromöbel".

• 1985

  Management passes to the third family generation: Carolina Schmidt-Karsch and Hans F. Karsch.

• 1967

  Georg Schmidt buys the WINI brand rights and forms the company in its present shape from the Drakenburg and Marienau sites.

• 1960

  Production of school and office furniture resumes.

• 1956

  Georg Schmidt and his wife Minna found the "ITH-Möbelfabrik".

• 1953

  The Marienau branch plant files for bankruptcy; Georg Schmidt acquires the site at auction.

• 1933

  The short name "Wini" is in use at the latest, initially for garden arbours.

• 1926

  Company trades as "Wilhelm Niemeier, Duinger Holzwarenfabrik, Holzhandlung".

• 1908

  Wilhelm Niemeier founds a woodturning workshop in Duingen, Lower Saxony.

Manufacturer of individual office furniture "Made in Germany", combining ergonomics, modularity and design at attractive prices.

• WINEA PRO desk system

  Desk system that received the red dot award: product design in 2010.

• WINEA STARTUP 2.0

  Electrically height-adjustable sit-stand desk, individualisable, robust and "Made in Germany"; relaunched with a 2025 technical update, new colours, more configuration options and expansion possibilities.

• WINEA ELEMENTS

  Modular furniture system recognised with a German Design Award 2025 for its combination of flexibility, functionality and materials with a high recycled content.

• WINEA MAXX Modulregal

  Modular office shelving system for storage, room division and middle zones; structures open office areas and can be used as a room divider in open spaces.

• WINEA FLEX UP whiteboards

  Whiteboards that won a German Design Award 2025 for thoughtful design focused on the needs of modern office landscapes.

• Use of civilian forced labourers during the Second World War

Read more

1. 1Individuelle Büromöbel vom Hersteller - WINI. Mein Bürowini.de
2. 2Wini Büromöbel – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wini Büromöbel – Wikidatawikidata.org