Manufacturer of office and project furniture made of wood, steel and biobased materials
Vepa the furniture factory
Hoogeveen · Emmen · Frankfurt am Main · TelfordNew on Amplifa
Manufacturer of possibilities
Vepa the furniture factory is a family business and trade name of VepaDrentea B.V. based in Hoogeveen. The company produces office, project and care furniture: desks, sit-stand tables, chairs and bar stools, lounge elements, cabinet and locker systems, partitions and acoustic wall panels. The value chain comprises panel and wood processing, sheet metal and steel tube processing, welding with welding robots and manual work, in-house toolmaking including stamping tools, fully automatic powder coating of metal as well as low-temperature-curing powder coating on MDF and wood, manual lacquering, upholstery and final assembly. Wood is sourced exclusively FSC- and PEFC-certified; in addition, recycled steel, PET felt made from post-consumer bottles and hemp fibres with plant-based Plantics resin are used for the seat shells of the Hemp chair collection. At the Circular Center in Emmen, furniture is revitalised, renovated and dismantled; with Furniture as a Service, furniture is taken back after 5 to 10 years. Production takes place at the Hoogeveen and Emmen plants as well as in Telford (United Kingdom) on a total of around 60,000 m² of factory floor space. Customers come from office, care, education, canteen and gastronomy as well as public procurement; the company is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- Site
- AH Hoogeveen, Netherlands
- Processes
- Panel processing (sawing panels, dowelling, edge banding, LaserTec edge processing), Woodworking / custom work, special designs and interior fitting, Sheet metal processing (from strip steel coil to end product), Toolmaking (including stamping tools), Welding (welding robots for large series, manual work for small parts), Powder coating of metal (fully automatic line), Powder coating on wood/MDF (Uralac Ultra technology, low-temperature curing), Lacquering of wood / staining (by hand, multi-layer, with drying room at 30°C)
- Materials
- Wood (FSC/PEFC certified), Melamine-coated wood panel, HPL (high-pressure laminates), Arpa Fenix, Beech, Oak wood (solid), Multiplex, MDF
- Certificates
- ISO 9001, ISO 14001, FSC, PEFC, OEKO-TEX, FSC / PEFC, NEN-EN 16139 / Crib 5
- Founded
- 1951
- Industries
- Office, Care, Education/teaching, Canteen and cafeteria, Gastronomy, Public procurement
Materials and production processes
Certified wood (melamine board, HPL, multiplex, MDF, solid wood)
Base material for tabletops, cabinets and panels; exclusively FSC- and PEFC-certified, E1 quality, 18 or 25 mm thick.
Steel and steel tube (also recycled)
Strip steel and tube profiles, e.g. 89×49 mm, for frames of tables, chairs and cabinets; powder-coated in all colours.
Hemp fibres with Plantics bio-resin
Raw material of the production-ready seat shells of the Hemp chair collection; fully plant-based, recyclable and CO2-storing.
PET felt made from post-consumer bottles
Recycled plastic for seat shells and panels of the Felt and Barnacle series; 100% recyclable.
Arpa Fenix and high-pressure laminates
Surface material for tabletops with LaserTec edge processing.
Flax (linen)
Biobased raw material for the Flax seating series.
Locations
Hoogeveen
NLHeadquarters, production, showroom
- Part weight / size
- Office and project furniture up to complete furnishing
- Lot size
- Custom manufacturing from 1 piece, small and large series
- Materials
- Wood-based materials, steel, steel tube, hemp fibres
- Automated production line for wood-based material products
- Panel processing machines (saw, edge banding/LaserTec, dowel technology)
- Stamping tools (toolmaking)
- Welding robots
- Fully automatic powder coating line
- Presses for hemp seat shells
Emmen
NLMetal production, warehouse, Circular Center
- Part weight / size
- Office and project furniture
- Lot size
- Series production and reprocessing
- Materials
- Strip steel, steel tube, wood, fabric
- Welding robots
- Fully automatic powder coating line
- Circular Center (revitalising, renovating, dismantling)
Frankfurt am Main
DEShowroom (Westhafen Tower, by appointment only)
Telford
GBProduction
Products and components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panel processing (sawing panels, dowelling, edge banding, LaserTec edge processing)Plastics | – | – | – | Small series/custom manufacturing – Series production | Melamine-coated wood panels, HPL, MDF, Multiplex, Solid wood |
| Woodworking / custom work, special designs and interior fittingPlastics | – | – | – | 1 (custom work) | Wood |
| Sheet metal processing (from strip steel coil to end product)Forming | – | – | – | – | Strip steel |
| Toolmaking (including stamping tools)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Steel |
| Welding (welding robots for large series, manual work for small parts)Joining | – | – | – | Small series (manual work) – Large series (robotic) | Steel tube, Steel |
| Powder coating of metal (fully automatic line)Surface | – | – | – | – | Metal, Steel, MDF/wood panels (powder coating on heat-sensitive |
| Powder coating on wood/MDF (Uralac Ultra technology, low-temperature curing)Surface | – | – | – | – | MDF, Wood, Wood products |
| Lacquering of wood / staining (by hand, multi-layer, with drying room at 30°C)Surface | – | – | – | – | Wood |
| Upholstery (upholstery work, button sewing)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Fabrics, Vinyl, Upholstery material |
| Chair and desk assembly incl. quality control, final assemblyAssembly | – | – | – | – | Steel, Wood, Plastic, Hemp seat shells |
| Pressing technology for hemp seat shells (pressing hemp mat with plant-based resin,Plastics | – | – | – | – | Hemp fibres, Plant-based resin (Plantics), Bakelite |
| Circular-economy reprocessing: revitalising, renovating, dismantling furniture (CircularAssembly | – | – | – | – | Wood, Steel, Fabric |
| Custom furniture manufacturing (locker cabinets, interior fit-out, co-creation)Engineering | – | – | – | 1 (custom manufacturing) | Melamine boards, Wood, Steel |
| Furnishing concepts, design (RE/VE/DE), BIM project method, project management and on-siteEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
6 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully automatic powder coating line | – | – | – | – | Hoogeveen / Emmen |
| Welding robots | – | – | – | – | Hoogeveen / Emmen |
| Automated production line for wood-based material products (most advanced in the industry, 2023) | – | – | – | 2023 | Hoogeveen |
| Panel processing machines (saw, edge banding/LaserTec systems, dowel technology) | – | – | – | – | Hoogeveen |
| Stamping tools (toolmaking) | – | – | – | – | Hoogeveen |
| Presses for hemp seat shells (pressing with Plantics resin) | – | – | – | – | Hoogeveen / Emmen |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and quality marks
Production undergoes in-house quality control through to final assembly; chairs are tested to NEN-EN 16139 and the seat shells have passed the Crib 5 fire safety test (BS 5852). Quality marks such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, FSC and PEFC document quality and sustainable sourcing; life cycle assessments are carried out in accordance with ISO 14044.
| Evidence | Hoogeveen | Emmen | Telford |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |||
| ISO 14001 | |||
| FSC / PEFC | |||
| NEN-EN 16139 / Crib 5 |
History
- 1951
Start of furniture production at the Hoogeveen and Emmen plants; Drentea (then Betiham) starts with the manufacture of lighting fixtures.
- 1955
Relocation from Hilversum to Emmen.
- 1957
Foundation of Drentea Staalbuis.
- 1966
Drentea focuses on steel office furniture, library shelving and steel wall furniture.
- 1971
Vepa (merger of Veco and Padamo) begins manufacturing chairs, tables, teaching and laboratory furniture.
- 1990
Start of office furniture production.
- 2020
Merger of Vepa the furniture factory and Drentea Future Office.
- 2022
Largest investment in company history: expansion by more than 20,000 m² in Emmen (11,000 m², Circular Center) and Hoogeveen (9,000 m²) for around 30 million €.
- 2023
Hemp chair collection becomes production-ready (with Plantics); commissioning of the automated production line for wood-based material products in Hoogeveen.
- 2026
German Design Award 2026 (WINNER) for the Contact table system.