Ring Baltic story

More than 10'000'000 chair mechanisms sold since 1942

Beginnings

The very modest beginning of Ring Mekanikk took place in Moelv, in the vicinity of Lillehammer, Norway in 1942. The first product lines were toolboxes for sewing kits. After the end of WW2, radios were again allowed in Norway and RM started to produce cabinets for radios and record players. Shortly after, the first chair-mechanism, based on automotive torsion bar technology, was developed and patented.

The first patent

In 1953 Ring Mekanikk obtained a patent for its "tilting device for office chairs." This patent, along with licensed production in the United States, proved to be essential for Ring Mekanikk’s further expansion.

In the 1960s, Ring Mekanikk ran full-scale production of office and home chairs mechanism parallel with production of its own line of chairs. Up to this day, RM’s prime product is still supplying the furniture industry with chair mechanisms.

Philosophy

The development of torsion bar chair mechanisms laid the foundation for RM’s knowhow in ergonomical principles and the importance of implementing these principles in chair design. This philosophy still dominates RM’s approach toward furniture with a reclining or tilting motion and is appreciated by some of Europe’s most prestigious chair manufacturers.

Transport seating

The knowledge of ergonomy and comfort in seating as well as industrial production lead RM to start manufacturing complete reclining train seats — fixed and revolving.  In 1974, RM launched itself into the world of transport seating. In co-operation with the Norwegian State Railways, RM developed a range of railway seats and has received considerable acclaim, both domestically and abroad. In several independent tests, RM seats have come out ahead of seats from competitors in the top end of the international market. One of the milestones in our rail seating was the development of state-of-the-art seats to the Norwegian Airport Express. 

RM is involved in several projects in supplying train chairs in the Norwegian market as well as supplying chair mechanisms to the European railway market. Lately, RM has won very prestigious contracts — against heavy international competition — of supplying the seats for the Norwegian State Railways long distance train and also for new trains built for Flytoget. This has provided us with the stepping stone to further expansion in the field of transport seating.

21st century

Ring Mekanikk AS has developed into a solid mechanical company with a total of more than 75 employees engaged in production, R&D, quality and management. RM is supporting a worldwide market (over 95% export). Over the years, more than 10.000.000 chair mechanisms have been sold. Up to 2022, RM had its head office and main administration and product development in Moelv, 150 km north of Oslo, Norway; and a manufacturing plant, located in Ogre — 40 km southeast of Riga, Latvia.

2022

In May 2022, the company announced an ownership change in a management buy-out from the Flokk Group of Norway, and a name change to Ring Baltic. Ring Baltic regained its independent supplier status. The company consolidated its customer service, R&D and manufacturing under a single roof, and move headquarters to the Ogre facility in Latvia.

Due to a high level of quality, extensive experience and ongoing , Ring Baltic continues to be a recognized sub-supplier to various industrial sectors such as furniture, automotive and defence.