24 - 30 May 2001

Furniture manufacturers may join forces to bring down costs

by a staff reporter

Furniture manufacturers might start to purchase raw materials together to bring down costs and try to achieve economies of scale.
A spokesman for the Malta Furniture Manufacturers Trade Group, Mario Vella Petroni, said that when the Group will be set up, the procurement of raw materials for members will become possible.
“We will also look into the possibility of exporting products together or else employ an export consultant. We are also considering having a design group and setting up an export house.”
Furniture manufacturers and the Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprise Ltd (IPSE) on Tuesday launched the setting up of the Malta Furniture Trade Group.
This will act as a self-regulating body for the Maltese furniture industry and will seek to promote the objectives of its members on the domestic and overseas market.
Over the last six months, a small group of furniture producers have been working closely with IPSE to launch the initiative. IPSE has also obtained the necessary support of the Confartigianato of Treviso in establishing the objectives for which the Group has been set up.
The Trade Group will provide a structured framework within which Maltese manufacturers can cooperate for mutual benefit.
The aim of the Trade Group is to promote the growth of the individual enterprise through collective effort.
IPSE chief executive officer Joe Vella Bonnici said Maltese furniture manufacturers are realising that to meet competition from foreign producers, restructuring their individual enterprise is not enough. “They also need to learn to work together and coordinate their efforts so as to maximise the assets and competencies which they possess.”
The Trade Group will establish product quality standards for its members, promote its members’ products and will develop
the Made in Malta concept for furniture. It will also ensure that only enterprises meeting the collectively established quality standards will be able to use the Group’s quality mark. This will help Maltese furniture to gain international recognition as a quality brand.
Mr Vella Petroni said the association wanted to establish a code of ethics which would give the consumer assurances
related to the date of delivery and quality of the product.
In the coming weeks, the Furniture Manufacturers Trade Group will be holding a meeting to select the first committee.
Membership in the Group is open to all Maltese manufacturers. In all, there are around 900. Of these, three employ between 100 and 150, another 50 employ between 10 to 50 people while the rest employ less than five.
The need for an industry-wide organisation for the Maltese furniture sector, and the desirability to greater cooperation between enterprises were identified in the Sectoral Analysis report on the Maltese furniture industry commissioned by IPSE Ltd.