From local sawmill to international player

Chêne de l'Est was founded in 1965 in the French municipality of Hambach, located in the Moselle region near the German border. Its founder Joseph Bach quickly made a name for himself in the region as a cabinetmaker-timber and laid the foundations for what would grow into a company that operates across French borders, without sacrificing its strong local and family values.

Indeed, since its founding until today, the company has remained in family hands. The founder's children, Raymond, Jean-Michel and Brigitte with respective partners, and grandchildren Sébastien, Julien and Cynthia, run Chêne de l'Est.

Meanwhile, Chêne de l'Est is also a reference on the Americas. The company has six production sites, including five in France and one in the United States, and sells wood products and parquet in some 30 countries. "Our main markets are France and Germany, but we are also making great strides in the United States where we acquired a company in 2021," Jean-Michel Bach clarifies.

Chêne de l'Est employs 180 people and its products are distributed through a network of architects, decorators, wholesalers and showrooms worldwide. Parquet flooring is the largest segment within the range and is the main contributor to Chêne de l'Est's total turnover of over 39 million euros annually.

Countless references and finishing possibilities

The references in parquet cannot be counted on one hand or even on two hands. "Within our parquet offer, we not only have various colours, but also a lot of possible ways of finishing," says Jean-Michel Bach. Chêne de l'Est has over 200 colours on offer and the types of finish and looks vary greatly: solid, engineered, smoked look, with or without ageing, brushed, with or without visible seams, and so on.

There is also diversity when it comes to style panels. The Versailles motif, style panels in 100% oak, is available in dimensions of 15 mm x 800 x 800 (engineered) and 14 mm x 800 x 800 and 21-22 mm x 800 x 800 (solid). Besides the Versailles panels, Chêne de l'Est has about 10 other motif style panels on offer, including Chantilly, Vendôme and Aremberg as well as style panels with a 3D motif. "At Chêne de l'Est, we have been offering the Versailles motif for about 10 years, it is a classic and a successful stayer in our range," says Jean-Michel Bach.

Soaring demand for high-quality style panels

High-quality style panels come with a price tag. Starting prices of 150 euros per square metre are certainly no exception in this higher segment. Yet these style panels are smoothly finding their way to consumers and are even achieving increasing success.

According to Jean-Michel Bach, the inflation of recent years certainly has something to do with this: "We notice a saturation, even an oversupply in the lower and middle segment of flooring. However, customers who do still have a budget are staying away from those segments because they are looking even more purposefully and determinedly for a floor that few others have. The upper segment of style panels meets this customer desire. As a company Chêne de l'Est, we are very proud to contribute to this market from our decades of experience, our family values and focus on quality."

The finish that is most successful anno 2024? Jean-Michel Bach doesn't have to think long about that. "Today's consumers are mainly looking for a natural look. Our engineered style panels with distressed finish, a version with a natural look, are therefore doing particularly well in sales."

Website: www.chenedelest.eu