Académique Documents
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Office Furniture
Malaysia has witnessed the formation of a large number of factories
specializing in office furniture. The majority of them, those with the
highest production capacities that cater to the needs of importers like Wal-
Mart and Kmart, are based in the Johor Province next to Singapore. The
more specialized product-making platforms where office furniture factories
like Eurochairs, Versalink and Bristol are located, are in the Kuala Lumpur
area.
Office furniture is a much more specific product, it is about providing
solutions and services rather than just a product, explains Eurochairs
Executive Director, Mr. Garry Teh, the design is crucial in the process of
creating and adding constant value.
Eurochairs aims to become Malaysia's market leader in providing office
furniture solutions and it is in the midst of going public this month.
Quality comes from several factors; management, human resources as
well as technology. You need to combine all these elements to reach high
standards in quality. We believe we have the right management as well as
human resources.
Technology is where we need to increase our engagement. Going public
will help us raise more capital to invest in upgrading our technologies,
increasing our value and therefore reaching our goal of becoming a
market leader in this part of the world, adds Garry Teh. Eurochairs has
identified the geographical proximity of Malaysia with other Asean
countries as a great opportunity. Its products, designs and branding have
been well accepted all over the region.
Bristol is another company that felt it couldn't neglect the development
prospects the region offers. The company has become one of Malaysia's
leading office furniture manufacturers in providing total office furniture
solutions as a one-stop service place. Its products are synonymous with
quality and innovative design. Bristol has successfully supplied office
solutions for large-scale projects and internationally recognized brands
offices such as British Airways, Motorola, Hewlett Packard & HSBC.
Versalink has a strong market position in the production of paneled
furniture made of veneer, melamine particleboard, high-pressure
laminates, membrane press, etc. The company has developed an
impressive client base nationwide and worldwide, from banks, tertiary
institutions, universities, logistic & transportation companies to projects
for private limited companies. The company exports to Africa, Northern
Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and the Pacific
region. It is now focusing on expanding its market presence in both the
USA and South America with panel furniture such as case goods,
workstations and cabinets, said Versalink Executive Director Ms Arica
Low.
Malaysia has acquired significant experience and a long tradition as a
manufacturing centre; branding and marketing remain the country's
weaknesses. With time, things will change, believes Garry Teh. Branding
is an objective for many companies. The Malaysian furniture industry
players still need to learn and Americans are the gurus of marketing, they
can surely contribute to help us in creating our own concepts, admits
Garry Teh.
Upholstery
Price competition is the strategy currently in place in most specialized
Malaysian upholstered furniture factories. Companies have to distinguish
themselves from what is being made elsewhere. This is precisely the path
Best Store has embarked on since its establishment in 1999. Since 2000,
the company has introduced new items every year, over 100 different
models in total, said Best Store Managing Director, Mr. Stephen Teh, who
further explained that the company decided to give their sofas several
functions. Using a metal frame for a sofa rather than a wooden frame
allows the company to make moveable sofas that can recline, with
adjustable arms and pull-out leg supports. This is not a conventional sofa
maker. With regard to accessing the US market, Best Store plans to work
with agents, which will be faster and easier given the size of this market.
On the other hand, Rubelli, founded in 1995, has a different marketing
policy. It finds it more effective to visit one hundred retail outlets than to
just visit a trade show. You cannot get all the ideas from just attending a
trade fair. It's not necessarily representative of the entire industry. What
you see at a show is not always what sells. Whereas what you see in a
retail outlet normally sells, said Rubelli Executive Director Stephen Wong.
The company presently sells to importers and distributors in the US, but
aims to go directly to the largest retailers.
Rubelli provides eclectic design, and this has significantly contributed to
its successful positioning in countries like the UK, Australia and New
Zealand. They are looking at forms, ideas and models all over the world.
Rubelli comes up with their own designs that are in line with the
requirements of the markets they target, taking inspiration from what is
trendy.
Bedding
Retailers looking to offer their customers a solution that prevents
mattresses from slipping around on the bed frames should seriously
consider visiting expressAsia's webpage and have a look at one of their
latest innovations: unique wooden slats with non-slip rubberized printed
surface. This product is already successfully distributed in Europe with
Silentnight Beds, UK's largest manufacturer of branded beds for the home.
No doubt this new concept will bring new commercial successes and
happily complement expressAsia's existing range of innovations that
already includes the Universal Bed Frame, a unique bed support system
that is adjustable to fit all sizes and types of beds. This solution enables
the retailer to carry much less inventory and yet be able to cater to all the
different sizes, explains Kenneth Kolb, expressAsia's Chief Executive
Officer.
Innovation is at the heart of his strategy to remain competitive, I am a
strong believer in innovation, he adds, in Malaysia, raw material is
cheap, so the difference comes from better efficiency, he says, and
concludes, we cannot compete head-to-head in terms of price with
Vietnam for example, so we need to compete by using our heads.
He mentions the new compressing processes developed by expressAsia
which allows up to four times the number of pieces of innerspring or latex
mattresses to be shipped in a container, and points to WEBS, a business-
to-business e-commerce platform developed by expressAsia, that provides
a turn-key international supply chain management solution.
Kolb has ambitions to take expressAsia on the Kuala Lumpur Stock
Exchange: we are getting ready to go public and are explaining our
philosophy to the stock exchange, he says and adds this will allow us to
raise money and invest into upgrading ourselves.
Tsunami Tragedy : Furniture Industry of Malaysia Unscathed
In light of the recent tsunami tragedy that has befallen a number of
countries in South Asia, it is noted that the furniture industry of Malaysia
escaped unscathed. So far, damages to the country have been confined to
coastal areas of the island state of Penang, Kedah and Perlis that are
closer to the Phuket Island of Thailand and the northern tip of Sumatra.
There are no reports of any furniture manufacturing factories and related
concerns being affected by the incident as there are no set-ups in the
areas hit by the tidal waves. As Malaysia is out of the natural catastrophes
zone, the recent tragedy affecting a small part of the coastal areas in the
northern states is a consequence of spill-over effects.
We would like to thank the whole world for their concern over the
unfortunate incident.
MARCH FURNITURE FAIR
The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) 2005 scheduled on March
1-5, 2005 will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The
fair has been expanded in size again this year, and all available exhibition
space will be leased by 400 exhibitors from 13 countries worldwide. The
number of re-registered visitors is up this year and show management
expects that MIFF 2005 will be an excellent show.
Sadly, due to the nature of OEM which entails mass production for
overseas buyers, design has never been the key agenda for most export-
oriented Malaysian companies. And it wont be easy to integrate this
design culture into existing mindsets. Also, operations-wise, factories built
for mass production are not able to provide design varieties.
There are also too few successful local designers. These students, industry
members and furniture manufacturers need good role models that they
can perhaps benchmark against their design ability or design team
capabilities. Manufacturers, for example, need design-focused operation
models to manage their internal design team.
Quality Malaysian
Timber Products
Timber Associations
Enquiry Forms
Welcome to the exciting world of made-in-Malaysian timber products, whether
made predominantly using Malaysian timbers, or in combination with other
timber species from around the world.
From the humblest of beginnings during the last century when logs from the forests were
pit-sawn manually to produce planks and boards, the Malaysian timber industry has
undergone tremendous development and evolution to become a vibrant multi-billion
dollar industry and a well-known global leader in the production and trading of timber
products.
The very diverse range of products now offered to the marketplace includes logs,
sawntimber, mouldings, veneer, plywood, particleboard, medium density fibreboard,
builders carpentry and joinery items, wooden and rattan furniture as well as niche
market products like picture frames, pre-finished parquetry, glued laminated timber and
laminated veneer lumber. This section provides background information on several of
these products.
Malaysian commercial hardwoods range from heavy and medium weight construction
timbers to fine furniture woods which are appreciated for a variety of uses and
performance. They are available in a range of export grade lumber, according to the
Malaysian Grading Rules, or as laminated scantlings, mouldings, builders carpentry and
joinery products, veneer, plywood and other panel products. Twenty of the more popular
Malaysian species are:
The comprehensive technical properties of these timber species and more are
detailed here.
For samples of exciting projects using Malaysian timbers, please check out
our Projects section.
- See more at: http://mtc.com.my/timber-products/#sthash.JhMlH8F8.dpuf
Government Supports
nd programmers of the Ministry among others, are to foster the orderly development of the plantation and commodity sector through the dev
dded activities via downstream processing and the marketing of commodities, particularly semi-processed and processed. Its functions includ
ment of the furniture industry covering research and development (R&D), production, processing and marketing.
to create a conductive business environment for furniture manufacturers and to enable the industry to continue to chart phenomenal growth, M
m the Ministry in its deliberations, contributed to important data and industry survey by the Ministry and participated in meetings, prog
organized by the Ministry, such as, meeting on implementation of MYLAS, meeting on Australian illegal Logging Prohibition Act, meeting w
dity industry Consultation 2013.
p://www.kppk.gov.my/
Malaysia Timber Industry Board (MTIB)
ody accredited by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodity, MTIB has been accorded as the lead agency to enhance the sustaintab
a timber industry. Through its technical, marketing and their forms of assistance, MTIB collaborates with MFC on all matters pertaining to
ontinued growth of the timber-based industry.
resented in "Lembaga MTIB", "Jawatankuasa Kerja Kemudahan Pembiayaan Industri Perkayuan Malaysia", "Jawatankuasa Perdagan
a Teknikal Project Kajian Persijilan Kayu Secara Berkumpulan bagi Pekebun Kecil".
the year, MFC attended and participated in a number of meetings, discussions, workshops, seminars and briefing organized by MTIB such as,
e Certification of Rubberwood under MTCS", "Mesyuarat Jawantankuasa Kerja Kemudahan Pembiayaan Kewangan & Insurans Industr
MTIB Taklimar Pembangunan Francais untuk Industri Kayu and MTIB Sesi Konsultasi Malaysia's Country Specific Guidelines (MCSG) Aus
hibition Act.
p://www.mtib.gov.my/
a Furniture Promotion Council is a specialized promotional body that promotes and develops the Malaysian furniture industry to establish M
ognized source of world-class furniture.
sponsibility of MFPC is to promote and develop the Malaysian furniture industry in order to sustain the industry's export as a substantial forei
the national economy.
es out programmes which include the promotion and development of new markets, enhancement of design capabilities and capacities, co
n of market information and trade statistics to the industry.
ussion sessions, seminars were held and MFIC actively participated and contributed to MFPC Strategic Planning for Furniture and Meeting to
ade Mission.
Malaysian Timber Council (MTC)
ssion to ensure the sustainability of the Malaysian timber industry by improving its competitiveness, enhancing market access and cr
s, the Malaysian Timber Council continues to promote the development and marketing of timber-based products and industry in Malaysia.
organized by MTC are well participated by MIFC members, namely Import Assistance Programme and Global WoodMart which are aimed
industries in sourcing raw material overseas and to enhance market access while creating trade opportunities.
p://mtc.com.my/
MATRADE
s mission to promote Malaysia's export has enabled many local companies to carve new frontiers in global markets. MATRADE is represente
ons in major commercial cities. In Malaysia, MATRADE has five local branches in Penang, Terengganu, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
has initiated several programmes to assist Malaysian companies to equip themselves with knowledge and skills to meet the challenges in the
e training programmes, Export Excellence Awards and client services.
assist Malaysian companies to establish their presence overseas and raise their profiles in foreign markets through different promotional driv
in trade missions, specialised marketing missions and international trade fairs.
also organises business matching programmes for Malaysian companies and foreign importers. Being the national agency for trade
is often the first reference point for enquiries and visits by foreign importers. The agency's role is to match them with compatible local partn
ducts and services they seek.
p://www.matrade.gov.my/