The Hindu : Growing market for mechanised furniture

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 08, 2004

Business

Business

Growing market for mechanised furniture

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, FEB. 7. Indian entrepreneurs saw the growing furniture market as a strong opportunity for mechanised production, furniture makers said at IndiaWood, a wood working machinery trade fair, which opened here on Friday.

The organised furniture market was an estimated $1.2 billion, a mere one per cent of the global market. But, it was showing a consistent growth of 15-20 per cent, some of the smaller players visiting the trade fair said. Even though large manufacturers like Blowplast, Godrej and Featherlite lord it over much of the organised office furniture market, there was plenty of room for smaller concerns, with a turnover of anywhere between Rs. 50 lakhs and a few crore rupees.

IndiaWood, the third such show being held here had grown in size and stature, to become "an important trade fair for the furniture machinery industry,'' everyone agreed. In addition to the traditional participants, Germany and Italy, this year's show has drawn a strong representation from Taiwan, emerging as a major mass manufacturer of machinery, machine tools and furniture.

Gianni Ghizzoni, Vice President of the European Federation of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers, put things in perspective: Exports of machinery to India in 2002 was some 8 million Euro (about $11 million), half of which had come from Italy. The Italians also invested in setting up a state-of-the art Advanced Woodworking Training Centre at the Institute of Wood Science and Technology, here last year.

The Germany's Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers Association (VDMA) saw a growing demand for European woodworking technologies and machinery in India. The VDMA has brought in 23 manufacturers who thought it worth their while to set up stalls here. Companies such as Homag, Holzher, Altendorf, Martin and Leitz were expanding their Indian presence, a VDMA release said.

New Zealand, keen on exporting its pine, has brought its Wood Mission to the trade fair. A team of experts from New Zealand have been making enthusiastic presentations at the trade fair. The country's Minister for Trade Negotiations, Jim Sutton, was also at hand to inaugurate India Wood.

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