Siller Stairs – Interview with Benjamin Friedl

by Adrian How

Siller Stairs is one of Italy’s foremost stairs designers. My previous post showcased Siller’s impressive work done around the world. Here’s an interview I did with the guy behind Siller Stairs himself – Benjamin Friedl.

***

Me: Tell us about the origins of Siller Stairs/Treppen

Benjamin: The company was founded in 1958 and by a traditional carpenter. Mr. Siller Senior only manufactured custom made staircases primarily using wood during the winter time. In 1990, Christian Siller (Junior) decided it was time to expand the business and concentrate on professional stairs. His aim was to create light and floating stairs to be viewed as accompaniments to living spaces, just like any other furniture. Today, the main materials used are wood, stainless steel and glass. Since 2000, Siller Stairs has gone international and the are now sold in Germany, Austria, Spain, UK, USA and Canada.

Me: In your opinion, what differentiates Siller from its competitors? and how does Siller plan to continue to maintain the edge in an ever competitive industry?

Benjamin: Christian Siller has always been able to create new and trend setting designs. Usually we start selling a particular product 1 to 2 years before other competitors see the trend. With a very slim company structure we are able to move quick and adjust to new trends in the market. Even more, we are always trying to suggest unique designs to the customers to give them the possibility have the only stairs of its kind. Using noble materials and exclusive designs give us the possibility to concentrate on the high end market segment, where we do see a huge demand in future. Service, punctuality and high quality products are what we have and always will deliver and this sets us apart from our competitors

Me: You operate in several regions around the world. do you have any plans for expanding into asia?

Benjamin: Yes, we are indeed planning to expand to Asia. Currently we do already have 3 distributors in India which will start this year. Also we do have companies interested in our products in Singapore and we are just about to start a cooperation with a large group of companies in the middle east. Definitely we are also looking for business partners in Malaysia where we do see a huge demand in futuristic designs

Me: Which is your most popular product and what do you think are its strengths?

Benjamin: Currently the most popular product for the international market is the Mistral Glass Stair Design. There are not a lot of companies worldwide capable of producing this design. The strength of the product is to use the glass as a supporting structure (means you need do not require a supporting wall, as with many other designs) and with this we can achieve the look of a very light and floating staircase. In general we are trying to achieve to become the leader of glass stair products worldwide. Please find attached additional pictures of glass stairs. There will be more cutting edge designs to come as we are currently in the midst of building several new prototypes.

Me: What are your predictions for this industry in the next 5 years and where do you see Siller then?

Benjamin: We see demand an increasing demand in this sector as there are more and more people who are affluent and have unique tastes for custom and designer stairs. Siller Stairs is aiming to serve this market. Currently are working on a licence system with the aim to make it possible for retailers worldwide to sell our products for reasonable prices in the domestic market.