The Krost family business has a rich history of quality manufacturing, spanning an era, an ocean and a generation or two. Here’s how it all began.
Krost Business Furniture has its earliest beginnings in South Africa in the 1920s. Launched by three brothers to create and manufacture lasting steel products, the company’s initial focus was not solely office and commercial products.
The original Krost logo was a knight clad in indestructible armour. The figure symbolised durability and hardiness, one of the key beliefs of the original founders. Initially, the small outfit made a wide range of steel products, which included steel office furniture.
During the war years, Krost was a supplier to the South African and British army, sending off utility items like jerry cans, pots, pans and even water bottles. Interestingly too – Krost supplied jerry cans to the Australian army and the broader Commonwealth.
It wasn’t until after World War Two, that the focus began to be office furniture pieces. In South Africa, Krost pioneered 4 drawer filing cabinets, steel office chairs and steel desking systems. By the mid 80s, the business had expanded into multiple divisions including plastic manufacturing, warehouse racking, office accessories and other general office products. These divisions eventually became separate businesses, and most still operate today.
As for Krost eventually landed in Australia – some 11,000km away – the new Australian outpost was established in Sydney in 1989, by brothers Colin and Steve Krost, grandsons of one of the original founders, Barney Krost. Manufacturing and supply, and the office furniture industry, was a part of the family.
Over Krost’s 25 years in Australia, the philosophy and focus has been on providing customers with complete office furniture solutions, as opposed to just product-by-product. At the company’s very beginnings, Krost set out to offer the best service, provide the highest quality products, and always sell at a fair price. These key principles date back to Krost’s foundations many years ago, and have remained company keystones ever since.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
To honour Chef James Won’s appointment as Gaggenau’s first Malaysian Culinary Partner, we asked the gastronomic luminaire about parallels between Gaggenau’s ethos and his own practice, his multidimensional vision of Modern Malaysian – and how his early experiences of KFC’s accessible, bold flavours influenced his concept of fine dining.
Gaggenau’s understated appliance fuses a carefully calibrated aesthetic of deliberate subtraction with an intuitive dynamism of culinary fluidity, unveiling a delightfully unrestricted spectrum of high-performing creativity.
Functionally minded and balanced in design, Krost’s new Remi table collection navigates the evolving nature of work with pieces that blend seamlessly into any commercial environment.
Creative design interventions, relationship building, knowledge sharing – Saturday Indesign has it all. Coming up Saturday 21 May in Sydney, Saturday Indesign has something for everyone. We get you started with our top 10 picks.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Woods Bagot, Architectus and Hassell were among the big recipients at the Western Australian Architecture Awards 2025.
Terrai by Sona Reddy Studio translates the cultural identity of Telangana into a dining experience through regional materials, craftsmanship and contemporary design.