Inside Look: The Inspiration and Philosophy Behind Our Brand

Behind the brand of Benithem® is a story of one man’s tenacity, vision and drive – Mr Ben Teo. The founder of Benithem® first started off as an apprentice chairmaker in Singapore back in 1985. This was where he picked up his craft and knowledge on producing chairs and furniture as the company he worked for had a contract to supply the Government with office furniture.


He returned to Malaysia in 1988 and started a “Char Kuey Tiau” business and subsequently started a family with his wife while making their hawker business a successful one. With his growing family, that was when Mr Ben Teo decided that he needed to venture into his next business.


Relying on his past experience in Singapore, he set up “I Office” with a partner in 1993 with a lofty goal of bringing changes to the office furniture market, which was at its infancy then. They strived hard and worked long hours with a staff strength of 6 to fulfil all their Government contract orders.


Taking things to the next level, Benithem® Sdn Bhd was officially established in 1999, and they began their foray into the global export market where 88% of all production was sent overseas with the balance 12% being allocated to the Malaysian and Singaporean market. With the emphasis on ergonomically designed chairs, the company grew rapidly overseas and also successfully obtained the prestigious ISO 14001:2004 as part of their commitment to preserving the environment.

Benithem® is focused on a global vision and that is why in 2006, they participated in their first Orgatec furniture fair in Germany and has been a regular exhibitor for the biennial event, showcasing their latest products and innovation to the world.


In 2012, Mr Ben Teo found himself back in Singapore to open their first branch that incorporates a showroom to serve as a showcase for designers and architects to view the potential of incorporating Benithem® products in their creations. Benithem® continued to improve their designs by growing their design team and this culminated with them winning the Good Design Awards in 2015 for their lounge seating “MODE” model. It was a proud moment for a Malaysian company to win this honour as The Chicago Athenaeum presents the GOOD DESIGN Awards Program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world on a yearly basis.


With the ergonomic office touted as in important factor to increase productivity, Benithem® introduced the exquisite “MODUL” workstation as well as the BODY office chair in 2016 that remains highly popular till today. Closer to home, the Johor Bahru showroom was renovated in 2017 to display several work and home concepts, including newly launched seats and workstations, helping visitors visualise how our products can serve their needs.


Benithem® continues to launch new products and concentrate on providing innovative solutions for the office environment, with ergonomic design balanced with the latest materials and space-saving designs to fully optimise your office workspace.