Silen, Estonia’s leading office pod company and the 2023 Estonian Exporter of the Year, has been active in the U.S. market since 2019. Recent discussions about potential tariff increases have caused concern among many exporters, but Silen has continued to grow its sales and strengthen partnerships in the U.S., says CEO Endrus Arge. Next year, the company plans to open a new assembly factory in the United States.
Silen, which produces soundproof pods, currently exports to more than 60 countries. “As always, talk of tariffs causes anxiety—there’s too much uncertainty, and that’s never good for the business environment,” says Endrus Arge, CEO of Silen. According to Arge, the tariffs mainly affect the company’s U.S. distributors operating across all 50 states, as they are responsible for paying the import duties. These costs are eventually passed on to the end customer.
“These changes don’t impact our pricing strategy, but they do increase the final price unavoidably. However, since most of our competitors in the U.S. market also operate from Europe, Silen’s position hasn’t been significantly weakened,” notes Arge. “The confusion around Trump-era tariffs was brief for us, and once the situation became clearer, sales started to pick up again.”
In fact, Silen’s sales in the U.S. have grown significantly this year. “Honestly, the pace is surprising,” says Arge, noting that U.S. sales have increased by nearly 70% compared to the previous year. “There’s a lot of potential in this market.”
Next step: assembly factory in the U.S.
The company’s expansion in the U.S. goes beyond the logistics hub it has operated near Boston since 2019. The company is now preparing for its next major step: opening an assembly factory. Construction is expected to be completed by 2026.
“The confusion around Trump-era tariffs was brief for us, and once the situation became clearer, sales started to pick up again.”
Endrus Arge, CEO of Silen
“The main goal isn’t to mitigate the impact of tariffs, but rather to speed up delivery times. In the U.S., speed is a competitive advantage—customers expect fast solutions, not multi-week shipping times,” Arge explains. “I can’t reveal the factory’s location just yet,” he adds.
The state as a strategic partner from the start
Silen’s growth has also been supported by consistent collaboration with Enterprise Estonia (EIS). “Our story actually began with the EIS program ‘Design Bulldozer.’ Since then, we’ve participated in several support programs, including the Development Program for Companies, various trade fair and R&D support programs,” Arge lists.
Currently, the company is implementing the green transition program “Silen Zero 2030” with support from EIS’s Green Grant, and recently completed the TIP3 program—a series of workshops that ran for eight months. “Extremely interesting and useful,” Arge says of the workshops.
To date, Silen has exported its soundproof spaces to 63 countries, and its revenue ranks it among the top five companies in its sector globally. “We are very grateful to EIS and will definitely continue this journey together,” says Arge.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Silen, a company that designs and manufactures office pods for business customers, currently sells soundproof and noise-proof meeting and telephone rooms in 60 countries.
- In summer 2024 Silen opened a showroom in Chicago. Silen is the first Estonian furnishing company with its own showroom in North America.
- The showroom was opened in the leading design centre in Chicago. The showroom is located on the tenth floor of the Merchandise Mart (The Mart), built in the 1930s, and covers a space of 250 square meters. Brands such as Andreu World, Bosch, Gaggenau, Miele, Poggenpohl, etc., as well as the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer Steelcase have their showrooms in the same building.
- Silen’s largest market is the USA, and the company is widely represented in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.
- The company works with many Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Coca-Cola, Dell, Lego, Siemens and others.
- In 2023, Silen was awarded the title of the Exporter of the Year in Estonia.
- Silen OÜ was founded in 2018 by Endrus Arge, Sparry Kivilo and Henri Rüüsak.
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