Fredericia was established in 1911 as Fredericia Stolefabrik (Fredericia Chair Factory), by entrepreneur N. P. Ravnsø, who successfully led the venture until his death in 1936. From the very start, Ravnsø wanted his new venture to be known for extremely high quality, and throughout his tenure, he hired only the most skilled craftsmen – something that quickly lead Fredericia Stolefabrik to become renown for its high quality furniture in various styles. The Ravnsø family owned and operated Fredericia Stolefabrik until 1955.
This quickly became known as the catch phrase for the furniture industry, when the small Western Danish industrial town of Fredericia provided the setting for Denmark's international furniture exhibition. So it was no coincidence that Ravnsø chose Fredericia for his venture. At the time, it played host to the Nordic International Furniture Exhibition, aka ‘The Fair’, the first being held 1910. Until 1983, Fredericia was the venue for the fair, in which manufacturers presented a wide range of Danish design to be developed throughout mid-century.
The first luxury collection of Fredericia’s was based on methodologies fashionable in 1920’s Denmark, namely historic Central European and English style furniture. Meanwhile in Copenhagen, professor Kaare Klint was forming the basis for a new Danish School of design.
