At the age of 17, Mr Ben Teo began his apprenticeship as a chairmaker in Singapore for 2 years where he picked up his craft and knowledge of producing chairs and furniture. The company mainly supplied projects to the Government.

1988

He returned to Malaysia to start a “Char Kuey Teow” business. This was when he subsequently settled down with his wife and they both managed to make their hawker business a very successful one.

With his growing family, Mr Ben saw the need to diversify his business. This encouraged him to gradually venture to his next business.

1993

Setting up the “I Office” with a partner, they were set to make changes to the office furniture industry. In the early days, the company only had a staff strength of 6 and the hours were long as they rushed to fulfill their orders from government projects.

1999

In 1999, Benithem® Sdn Bhd was officially established and the staff grew from the initial 6 to 125 people today. The focus of the company was always on the global export market, hence 88% of all produced chairs are sent overseas with the remainder 12% allocated to the Malaysian and Singapore markets.

Benithem® Sdn Bhd has also successfully obtained the prestigious ISO 14001:2004 reinforcing our pledge to preserve the environment.

2006

Benithem® participated in their first furniture fair in Germany (Orgatec) and has been a regular exhibitor for the biennial event.

2012

Our first branch was opened in Singapore, along with a showroom. This outlet serves as a showcase for designers and architects to view the potential of incorporating Benithem® products in their creations.

2015

Our lounge seating “MODE” won the prestigious Good Design Awards 2015 in Chicago, USA. Each year, The Chicago Athenaeum presents the GOOD DESIGN Awards Program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial products, and graphic designs produced around the world and it was indeed a proud moment for a Malaysian company to win this honour.

2016

The creation of the exquisite, MODUL workstation, to suit the trending style of ergonomic office, along with the introduction of BODY, one of the highly prized chairs in our collection.

2017

Our showroom in Johor Bahru was renovated to display several work and home concepts, with the inclusion of many more newly launched seatings and workstations, aimed to optimize visitors' scouts.

2018

To prevent vexatious situations where meetings and discussions are disrupted, ROOF was introduced to ameliorate the productivity and effectiveness of private sessions.

2019

The launch of FEIN, the thinnest in our chair collection, to bring the unorthodox allure of thin desk chairs into the conventional chair seating standards.

2022

An even greater invention to maximise noise reduction and enhance seclusion to make the environment a viable one to work in, be it for a group discussion or to focus on individual work.

2023

The launch of TULIP office series, the modern office seating collections, designed to infuse comfort and a home-like ambiance into the workplace. This collection aims to enhance overall work well-being by providing a comfortable and inviting environment for employees.