Furniture with invisible drawers
Engineering — The Vaud-based firm FiveCo is multiplying its furniture projects
The R&D engineering firm FiveCo is growing. The company recently moved to Mont-sur-Lausanne (VD) into new premises. "We were running out of space in Renens and needed a larger workshop," explains Antoine Lorotte, founder of the company, established twelve years ago. FiveCo's ten engineers now have 440 square metres at their disposal to develop innovative concepts for watchmakers, industrial clients, or customers in the medical and automotive sectors.
Since its founding, the company has developed around one hundred projects, of which nearly one third are now on the market. "But you will never see the name FiveCo appear," notes Antoine Lorotte. The firm has, for example, designed the Raptor watch display in collaboration with Dietlin – Artisans Métalliers for the Hublot manufacture. It allows protective glass to be removed while guaranteeing maximum security for the object on display. Thanks to infrared sensors and small motors, the displayed watch immediately retreats into the display unit if a visitor leans too close. "We have produced around 200 of them," notes Antoine Lorotte, who works with Swiss subcontractors for the mechanics, precision machining, turning, leather finishing, and so on. "We handle the design and assembly," notes the FiveCo director.
Hybrid vehicle
The company also created a motorised system for Hublot to animate the displayed watch, with movements synchronised to LED lighting and the showcase's video screen. It has also designed electric motor terminals, image-processing systems, light animation devices, and various robots. "We are currently working on a hybrid vehicle, about which we cannot say more," adds Antoine Lorotte.
The company has also launched its own brands, including Art of Secret — furniture containing secret drawers. FiveCo has had cherry wood bedside tables manufactured, incorporating in one of their legs a secret compartment in the form of a pod divided into three illuminated sections. Access is via a fingerprint reader also integrated into the furniture.
"Its very complex mechanics and electronics were integrated with an eye to invisibility," explains Antoine Lorotte, whose company has also designed an executive desk incorporating hidden compartments. What is the price of the furniture? "It corresponds roughly to the price of a car," compares the FiveCo founder, who is looking for a partner to promote the brand and establish a sales network.
In parallel, FiveCo — which generates CHF 2 million in revenue — is also marketing, under the brand Mémoire du vin, a piece of furniture designed to manage one's wine cellar. It consists of a solid oak monolith containing a reader and a touchscreen. In addition to the furniture itself, the user must attach rings to the necks of their bottles. These allow the stock to be tracked in real time and the value of the collection to be updated. "You simply pass the ring over the side of the monolith for the reader to pick up the information, which is then displayed on a touchscreen," explains Antoine Lorotte. The user can also access their cellar from their computer or smartphone — a system that allows for better collection management. Cost of the system: CHF 28,500.
