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Winkler Holzbiegewerk AG – passionate about the art of wood bending.

Now in its third generation, the company Winkler Holzbiegewerk AG is passionately devoted to the craft of wood bending. Architects, furniture makers, designers, timber construction professionals, carpenters and private clients all rely on our experience and value our personal and solution-oriented approach to bringing bentwood ideas to life.

View our bentwood projects

A WORLD RECORD
AND A DESIGN PREMIERE

In 2026, you can meet us at three trade fairs:

  1. From January 20 to 23, 2026, we will be at Swissbau Basel. At our stand, you will find fascinating applications of steam-bent wood in construction, for portholes and round windows, facade elements, and more. Also on display: the thickest larch beam ever steam-bent!
  2. Giardina in Zurich is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and we are celebrating with them: from March 11–15, 2026. The IDEM curved bench will make its design debut there. This unique, streamlined bench is made from tapered, steam-bent wooden components. These are arranged in a wave pattern, creating an extremely exciting dynamic.
  3. We will be participating in the ÖGA Garden Fair in Bern for the first time, from June 24–26 in Oeschberg/Koppigen. We will be showcasing our entire range of WINKLER Design round benches.

More about Swissbau Basel >

More about Giardina in Zurich >

More about ÖGA in Bern >

Bentwood attraction in Schaffhausen

We are proud to present an outstanding new bench installation in the centre of Schaffhausen. We supported the Bahnhofstrasse redevelopment by contributing our steam-bent curved benches and several other distinctive seats, all installed on site. They are made of 100% Swiss ash and offer pedestrians a comfortable place to sit and watch the world go by.

These custom-made curved benches blend in seamlessly with the local surroundings. We would like to thank the Schaffhausen municipal council, the architects and the construction management team at Wüst Rellstab Schmid for their trust and excellent support.

Discover curved benches in Schaffhausen >

LOTS OF INNOVATIONS AT THE
HOLZ TRADE FAIR IN BASEL

From 14 to 18 October 2025, we were in Basel for the HOLZ trade fair. Under the theme #handwerkholz (woodcraft), the woodworking community came together at Switzerland’s leading trade fair for the wood processing industry. A visit to our stand was certainly worthwhile, as we had all kinds of new products to present.

Visitors were able to explore our brand-new bench designs in person on site. We demonstrated various elegant applications of steam-bent wood in furniture making and timber construction. A key focus was on handrails and Bendywood. And visitors to the stand even had the opportunity to bend wood themselves!

More about our innovations at the HOLZ trade fair in Basel >

Lots of innovations at the HOLZ trade fair in Basel

HARMONICA now also available as a stool bench without backrest

Fresh from our design studio: The popular HARMONICA free-form bench is now also available without a backrest. With a seat width of 80 cm, the HARMONICA bench seat can be used from both sides and is ideal for parks, public squares, pedestrian zones and more.

Sit back-to-back, cross-legged, or even stretch out and lie down. Anything goes, anything is possible. The HARMONICA stool bench invites you to relax and chat. As with all our stool benches, the course, curve and length can be freely chosen. This gives planners and landscape architects even more options and flexibility when designing their outdoor furniture.

Find out more about the flexible HARMONICA stool bench >

Art in construction

The new façade with curved wooden components has turned our warehouse into a real eye-catcher. It is intended to serve as inspiration for architects and timber builders and to show directly on the object itself how round forms can embellish a wooden façade. The curved details provide just a small glimpse into the many possibilities that bentwood offers in timber construction.

The surfaces of the ash rings and the oak waves are both treated with pigmented exterior oils, so they remain beautiful and durable for decades.

Find out more about bentwood in timber construction >

Art in construction 2025

100 YEARS OF SWISS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

We were proud to sponsor the 100th anniversary celebration of the BSLA association of Swiss landscape architects. The Aargau section hosted guests at Lenzburg Castle from 12 to 21 April. For the public exhibition, the lady of the castle placed a HARMONICA curved bench amid blackthorn bushes as a nod to Sleeping Beauty. Over the ten days, our comfortable bench offered people a welcome place to rest their feet.

At the opening event in the Knights’ Hall, visitors learned interesting details about the BSLA’s activities over the past decades and were given an outlook on future challenges. There was also a creative area for both young and old.

Find out more about the Aargau regional group of the BSLA >

Giardina Trade Fair Zurich 2025

From 12 to 16 March 2025, it was once again time for ‘Giardina – Life in the Garden’. This year, the main theme ‘A Blooming Future’ attracted a wide variety of exhibitors from the green industry to Messe Zürich.

Of course, we were also there again, presenting the public with exciting innovations and fresh new bentwood designs from our workshop. Our sustainable and beautifully designed seating furniture and accessories for gardens and terraces simply have to be experienced in person – such as our curved outdoor handrails, with their particularly pleasant and warm feel.

Contact us for upcoming trade fair dates >

Find out more about the LEUGGERN curved bench >

LEUGGERN curved bench

DESIGN YOUR OWN
HARMONICA BENCH!

Get hands-on and let your creativity run free: With our new online configurator, you can create your own personalised HARMONICA bench in no time at all. Choose from a large selection of colours, textures, legs, bench slats and more. You can even define the exact form and length of the curved bench, the slat width, and many other details. 

Professionals can also upload their own curves and then download the finished bench as a 3D file and import it into common rendering programs. Thanks to augmented reality (AR), the tool also lets you visualise your finished, very own HARMONICA in its future setting – your clients are sure to be delighted. 

Try it now and get creative >

ARBOSEDA – the youngest
member of our curved
bench family

The ARBOSEDA, our latest round bench creation, is a classic tree bench. Designed for outdoor use, it is made from durable larch, Swiss ash or oak and offers a sustainable solution for parks, bus stops or private gardens. It also comes into its own indoors

For the metal brackets and legs, we offer the options of hot-dip galvanised steel or stainless steel, powder-coated in a RAL colour of your choice on request. This outdoor wooden bench is elegant, sustainable and the perfect place to sit and watch the world go by.

And thanks to its efficient construction, the ARBOSEDA is also available at an attractive price.

More about the ARBOSEDA tree bench >

ARBOSEDA tree bench

OUR CURVED BENCH – THE GISCHBERG

OUR CURVED BENCH, THE GISCHBERG

Introducing: the GISCHBERG, the youngest member of our popular curved bench family. You can design it creatively – as a round bench around a tree, a semi-circular seating area for resting and chatting, or a curved bench with flexible forms that blends in seamlessly with its surroundings.

Our clients – especially in the field of public furniture – above all appreciate the customisation options, which include with or without backrest, freely selectable number and position of armrests, and brightly coloured steel brackets. As an ideal park bench for public spaces, the GISCHBERG is durable and robust – and comes with a 20-year spare parts warranty.

Find out more about our new curved bench >

STEAM BENDING WOOD.
AT THE ‘HELLE NACHT’ EVENT

That is exactly what we showcased to visitors at Winkler Holzbiegewerk, Bahnhofstrasse 25, 5316 Felsenau, on Saturday 2 November 2024 as part of the official ‘Helle Nacht’ programme, organised by Industriekultur Aargau.

At 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm, we took visitors on a guided tour of our wood-bending workshop, which included a live steam-bending demonstration. Afterwards, our showroom hosted a specialist talk titled ‘The art of wood bending’. Visitors got to meet our owner and managing director Roman Winkler. And over a drink and a snack, they also learned more about how we utilise steam to transform solid Swiss wood into new forms for furniture and architecture.

More information about the ‘Helle Nacht’ event of Industriekultur Aargau can be found here >

STEAM BENDING WOOD. AT THE ‘HELLE NACHT’ EVENT

SCHÖN.GUT. EXHIBITION

SCHÖN.GUT. EXHIBITION

The unconventional exhibition in Küssnacht am Rigi (Lucerne) opened its doors from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November. True to the motto ‘Relax and enjoy at the cooperage’, there was plenty to see, taste and experience – and admission was free.

The team from the Winkler wood-bending workshop in Felsenau, Aargau, took part in the event at Küferei Suppiger in Küssnacht am Rigi. At the exhibition, we showcased our own furniture collection HARMONICA.

With steam, experience and a fine touch, our family business has been shaping solid wood into new forms for 88 years. For furniture, handrails, lighting, architecture and more. Our bentwood remains stable and durable, both indoors and outdoors.

Find out more about the small but special exhibition Schön.Gut.

We shape wood
into the desired form.

In nature, curved tree trunks are shaped over time by wind and weather. To avoid having to search for bent logs for curved wood applications in architecture, furniture making or for special parts, a physical trick known as steam bending can be used to shape wood into the desired form. Wood has the unique property of being bendable after an optimised steaming process, without the valuable material losing any of its positive qualities. When solid wood is bent, its structure remains intact – it is merely thermoformed. The use of bentwood offers many advantages in terms of stability, aesthetics and sustainability. We know our craft inside out and are committed to bringing your individual ideas and design visions to life.

 

How we bend wood into the desired form

In the following film, we offer an impressive glimpse inside our wood-bending workshop. Follow the wood’s journey – from sawing and bending through to the bentwood blank ready for further processing.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Advice

We are happy to advise professionals from architecture and timber construction, carpenters, designers and private clients on planning projects that involve bentwood components. The earlier we are involved in a bentwood project as specialists, the more opportunities we have to contribute our expertise on wood types or fastening details.

Planning

A construction plan and a template with the exact curvature are created from the designer’s idea.

Bending process

The wooden parts, cut to the exact length, are steamed for a defined period depending on their material thickness. The wood is then bent using the tried-and-tested Thonet wood-bending process, which we have further refined. The gradual, gentle drying process is crucial to the outcome. We have several drying chambers for this purpose. Drawing on our experience, we achieve maximum dimensional accuracy and the ideal wood moisture content for subsequent processing.

Finishing

At the client’s request, we can mill, mould and sand the bentwood parts into the exact finished dimensions and form. With our specialist equipment and experienced machinists, we are able to produce even multi-axis bends with a precise moulded profile. If desired, we can also carry out the surface finishing of the bentwood parts for optimum results.

Delivery/installation

A large proportion of our bentwood parts leave the workshop as semi-finished products, meaning the finishing and final assembly take place on the client’s premises. We are happy to deliver and install handrails for our private clients. We are flexible and will always try our best to accommodate our clients’ wishes.

Designing with bentwood opens up entirely new possibilities

Wood is renewable and offers outstanding properties for furniture making and architecture. Even with small cross-sections, this warm material is highly stable and elastic. After the bending process, the wood retains its advantages, as it is only gently thermoformed without cutting through its cellular structure.

Bentwood solutions for three sectors

Bentwood has been used in architecture for centuries. Even in contemporary architecture, you can find sophisticated curved designs that create a harmonious and striking effect when realised in wood.

The use of curved wood in interior design offers many advantages beyond its visual appeal – the high inherent stability of the material and the seamless use of wooden runs are just two.

We are used to working with and for architects to ensure the professional implementation of round forms in architecture, and we know the possibilities and processes for bringing curved designs to life.

Thanks to its organic forms, curved solid wood is perfectly suited for people and is therefore often used as an ergonomic foundation in furniture design. Now in its third generation, K. Winkler AG supplies Swiss furniture makers and designers with high-quality bentwood components. Many a furniture classic has been bent in our wood-bending workshop in Felsenau. Furniture makers, joiners and specialists in the fields of architecture and design count on our extensive knowledge of different wood types and their bending possibilities.

Traditional bentwood inserts can be found in wooden sledges, wagon wheels, steering wheels, old carriages and vintage cars, for example. Today’s product designers are increasingly returning to solid wood in curved form. And for good reason, because alongside its aesthetic appeal, bentwood combines impressive stability even in small cross-sections with a natural flexibility that absorbs vibrations effectively. We always look forward to new bentwood interpretations and ideas from product designers.

Wood – a natural and
sustainable material

Regional and renewable

Those who want to design and build in an environmentally friendly way should use wood, preferably from Switzerland. We source our wood directly from forests, sawmills and suppliers in the region. Our local forests provide a wealth of high-quality native woods ideally suited to furniture making, such as beech, oak, ash, larch, maple, cherry and walnut. Wood is Switzerland’s only raw material, and more grows here than is actually used.

 
 
 
 
 

Wood from our own stock

Winkler Holzbiegewerk AG maintains a large inventory of timber with a wide variety of wood types. This allows us to deliver quickly and in top quality, as it usually eliminates long procurement times and long supply routes.

WIDE RANGE OF FORMS WITH
OUTSTANDING STABILITY

The limits of what is feasible with wood bending depends on the chosen wood type and the required cross-section. Drawing on our many years of experience, we can achieve the maximum that is physically possible with bentwood.

The limit for the curved material thickness is 100 mm. The smallest possible bendable radius for such high cross-sections is 50 mm. Wood lengths of up to approximately 4.5 metres can be shaped on our largest press. Regardless of the dimensions, the end result of the process is a piece with a new, durable form and the same stability as the original material.

Pictures from our workshop

In our wood-bending workshop, we have five bending rooms with a total of eight bending presses. We also have an in-house carpentery for cutting and milling the boards, along with a turning shop, a sanding room and three drying chambers. We obtain the energy for heating and steam generation from wood waste, thereby closing the ecological loop.

References

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