Frits Loeb was a German-Jewish entrepreneur who founded the Utrechtse Machinale Stoel- en Meubelfabriek (UMS) on April 13, 1913. Originally established as a small carpentry factory to produce chairs for his shop in Utrecht, the company grew into a significant player in the Dutch furniture industry. Under Loeb's leadership, UMS initially focused on traditional heavy furniture and later transitioned toward standardized modular designs. During World War II, Loeb went into hiding, and the factory's machines were moved to Germany; however, he successfully resumed production after the war. In 1948, the brand name 'Pastoe' was introduced to the company. Loeb is recognized as a pragmatic perfectionist who laid the foundation for what would become an iconic Dutch design house.[1,2,3,4]
