Second nature: Fast

Fresh air, sunshine, the scents and sounds of nature – these are some of the many things that make the outdoors great. The health and lifestyle benefits of spending more time outside are encouraging an increasing number of homeowners and businesses to extend their spaces out onto balconies, gardens and patios, resulting in a booming outdoor furniture market. At the forefront of this revolution is Italian company Fast, which has doubled its turnover in the past four years thanks to a portfolio of products designed to make outdoor living more stylish and comfortable than ever.

Fast is based in the Valle Sabbia area of Brescia, close to Lake Garda, where the water, mountains and forests provide plenty of inspiration for outdoor living. The company was founded in 1995 by the Levrangi family that, after 30 years of experience, enriched its know-how in the manufacture of industrial items using die-cast aluminium. The move into furniture allowed the family to create their own products, and sell them direct to customers. “We chose the furniture industry because we saw it as a market with potential for growth,” explains Fast’s CEO, Marco Levrangi. “The processes for moulding, cleaning and treating the metal are still the same, we just had to introduce design to our business.”

Fast started out with a small in-house design team, developing simple pieces with a classic style that optimised the lightweight and resistant properties of aluminium. In 2007, it began a collaboration with the designers Robby and Francesca Cantarutti, who created a collection called Forest comprising a chair, armchair and stools that quickly became a bestseller. The extruded die-cast aluminium pieces feature forms inspired by nature that lend the collection a unique style and feel ideally suited to outdoor use.

In addition to developing functionally and aesthetically innovative outdoor seating, Fast has responded to the trend for more lounge-like furniture that can be left outside year round. “Twenty years ago, the only furniture you would find in the garden would be a table and chairs,” Levrangi suggests. “Today, people like to have a sofa like the one they have inside their house in the garden or by the swimming pool, so they can relax also outdoors.” The firm’s current collection includes sofas, lounges, chairs and tables produced using materials that provide complete weather resistance in addition to laid-back comfort.

A recent collaboration with Studio Lievore Altherr has resulted in the introduction of new textures and finishes to the Fast product family – further demonstrating that the company is not solely focused on working with aluminium. The New-Wood Plan collection, for example, utilises a material made using natural fibres and PVC to replicate the properties of wood. The various seating solutions are accompanied by water-repellent fabric cushions and tables to create a flexible and comfortable exterior environment. The Moai table also features a surface available in painted aluminium, stone or wood-look material to allow customers to create different atmospheres.

An inevitable consequence of Fast’s expansion is the strong growth in the export market, which currently accounts for around 75 percent of its business. This year will see the company begin selling directly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and it will present its products for the first time at its own stand at the imm cologne trade fair in January. Fast is also winning plenty of fans in the contract sector, where architects and designers appreciate being able to choose from a range of products suited to various settings and schemes.

For Fast’s CEO Marco Levrangi, the recent opening of a 700-square-metre showroom at its Valle Sabbia headquarters represents the next stage of Fast’s mission to become a provider of holistic outdoor lifestyle solutions. Visitors are welcome to view the production facility and try out the furniture in a showroom in the gentle hills surrounding the lake. “It’s a beautiful place to spend some time and appreciate the quality of life we are trying to achieve,” he says. Where better to experience how great design can help to enhance the outdoor lifestyle?

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Find Fast at imm cologne in Hall 11.2, Stand K-051

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