Blå Station continues to develop the design classic STING, as the chair is now upgraded with Hydro RESTORE, a material created from melted down scrap from the manufacturing industry and consumer products as well as a small proportion of primary aluminium. Just like before, STING is 100% recyclable, but now the chair also consists of a larger proportion of recycled aluminium. STING, like the majority of Blå Station's other products, is manufactured in Sweden.

The creation of an enduring classic

When Stefan Borselius and Fredrik Mattson designed STING in the early 2000s, many raised their eyebrows. At that time, no one had managed to make a stackable and connectable chair with a back and seat from failing aluminium. Many thought it was a technical impossibility, but Blå Station together with Hydro, then Sapa showed that it was possible by challenging an accepted industrial process and manufacturing a chair from recyclable aluminium. At the first launch during the Stockholm Fair in 2003, STING was one of the world's most innovative chairs, today it is a contemporary design classic that has been awarded with several awards such as the Red Dot Design Award, the Gold Chair and the Elle International Design Award. Now STING is once again in the spotlight, as the chair has been upgraded with Hydro RESTORE.

"Aluminum is an exciting and durable material in itself, but by starting to use an even higher degree of recycled aluminum in the construction, we are now taking the development one step further. Thanks to timeless design and conscious choice of materials such as Hydro RESTORE and stainless steel, STING is a chair that is constantly relevant and challenging. We are also happy to once again be able to launch STING with a Swedish manufacturer," says Johan Lindau, CEO at Blå Station.

Scrap gets new life

The majority of the raw material in STING, Hydro RESTORE, comes from Hydro's smelter in Sjunnen, Småland. Recently, a major investment was made at the plant to meet a greatly increased demand for low-carbon aluminium. In short, the process consists of Hydro collecting scrap from its customers and its own production for remelting. Hydro RESTORE also contains scrap from used consumer products. In this way, waste is minimized and aluminum returns to the production process. Hydro RESTORE can thus be used to create new products in virtually all industries, from furniture to buildings.

"With the help of locally recycled scrap, we can deliver more low-carbon aluminum to customers in our vicinity and at the same time speed up the transition towards a greener economy. Thus, the remelter in Sjunnen and products such as Hydro RESTORE play central roles in both our own and the customer's sustainability work," says Jonas Bjuhr, CEO at Hydro Extrusion Sweden.