Kent Graff Andersen

Diethelm Keller Premium Brands is a part of the Diethelm Keller Holding Group. The founders started their businesses in the late 1860s, trading products between Europe and Asia. Over time, descendants of the founding families expanded the trading business to take in marketing, logistics, and related services, while also diversifying into industrial activities and other segments. Today, the Diethelm Keller Group consists of five operating units, of which one is Diethelm Keller Premium Brands (DKPB). In recent years DKPB Manufacturing is transformed into one of the world leading manufactures of outdoor luxury furnitures and accessories. We have three factories in Indonesia and Philippines occupying 1.500 highly skilled employees with strong craftsmanship and the use of advanced atomised machines and production lines. We produce everything in-house and our capabilities span widely from own Sawmill, Timber Factory, Metal Factory, Weaving, Ceramic, Cushion and upholstery, R&D facilities, Test laboratory, etc. At our factories in Asia we develop and produce products for our own brands Gloster, DEDON, & Garpa, and for a number of other Premium Outdoor Brands around the world. Many OEM customers are already drawn to our strengths, and we are committed to explore this further.

Our company roots can be traced all the way back to West Africa in 1960, where a band of passionate entrepreneurs and furniture makers took the first steps on a long journey. Today we are located in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia. Here we employ around 1.000 highly skilled people and have comprehensive in-house manufacturing capabilities to develop & produce premium outdoor products across DKPB for our brands Gloster, Dedon, Garpa, as well as Private Label Business Partners. Our DNA is Teak, Crafts, and Innovation, bringing premium products to market with respect to sustainability, environment, employees, world-class designs & aesthetic materials. We have a proud and strong manufacturing culture that has been continuously growing stronger since the very beginning. Today, Gloster Indonesia has developed a factory to house its growing mastery of high-skilled craftsmanship, combined with the latest technologies in production machinery. From production layout turnaround to streamlining the production process to the strategic development in all areas, including the leadership team, Gloster factory has doubled its capacity in the last 8 years.

Established in 2000, DEDON Philippines is strategically located in the heart of Cebu Island’s furniture district. We aim to keep the growth of the company here in Cebu, as weaving is deeply embedded in the culture. Weaving is a true form of art and the core craftsmanship of our products. Our factory is a bustling hub of creativity and expertise. We employ around 600 expert craftsmen producing and developing Dedon Products. Since 2024, we have been working on a strategic roadmap, clearer visions, and real actions to develop the team. The results are clear: the highly efficient streamline, upgrading the production results, relocating the R&D from Germany to Cebu, and a stronger leadership team, resulting in a clear business improvement.

Barlow Tyrie has been manufacturing high-quality teak garden furniture since the 1920s. Using only the finest quality materials, such as teak hardwood with solid brass fittings, each piece of furniture is skillfully crafted to the highest degree, oozing exceptional quality, comfort, and style. Products in this range include benches, dining tables and chairs, sunbeds, tree seats, and luxuriously comfy outdoor sofa sets with heavenly cushions. This British-owned manufacturing company exports mainly to Europe and America. In this company, I was responsible as the factory manager. We were working hard on the overall factory performance and successfully gained a visible growth in the company.

Nicholaisen sells innovative machine solutions, but the most important is an advisor and sparring partner for your machinery needs. What Nicholaisen offers are sparring and advice of knowledge and insight into the industry, as motives for purchasing machines and optimizations can be very different depending on the users and their production needs. I was working on Commercial responsibility for the service division with activities in Northern Europe, such as factory optimisation projects, new machine installations, and service tasks specialised in the plastic, wood, and metal industry. We had developed innovative service concepts to grow the service division.

Located in Hørning, a town south of Aarhus, Denmark, we are among the first to develop a system: Opticloud. Opticloud collects data across all machine types and across all manual processes to empower optimisation & resource efficiency. Back then, I was the leader of an entrepreneurial innovative solution business concept development. It included LEAN Manufacturing solutions, commercial sales, and consulting activities for this newly started IT company. We were serving the broad industries in Northern Europe. During my leadership, the business expanded to include comprehensive hardware packages, software solutions, business intelligence tools, and a range of consulting services.

Norlund A/S is Denmark’s largest sawmill within the cutting of softwood for construction timber, which is supplied to both the Danish and European markets. The sawmill, located in Nørlund, processes softwood from all over the country and is a leader in the production of timber and construction wood for the construction industry. I was working on turnaround activity and building a business case to regain profit by evaluating the entire supply chain.

American-owned company, founded in 1965 with headquarters and production facilities in Denmark, Tvilum is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of ready-to-assemble all rooms in the house. Annually, Tvilum produces and distributes approximately 5 million pieces of furniture globally. Leading around 1000 employees, I was responsible for 4 Tvilum assortment factories as Factory Director. I was working closely with LEAN Manufacturing, HR, factory investments & optimisation, change management, product development & daily operations of the factories.

The company was known as System B8 Møbler. I was working on a short-term project position focusing on factory optimisation related to the business transition, developing from selling standard products to tailor-made products for the contract market.

Located in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, was known as PT Kingfurn International. This was my first exciting challenge working abroad. I was Responsible for supervising the factory and running various improvement projects, including new machinery, staff training, raw material utilisation, system implementation, etc.