By Yuri Chernyakevich
At present, we don’t see a lack of domestic furniture manufacturers in the country. Sofas and armchairs, as well as beds and bookstands are manufactured in Minsk and Mogilev, Bobruisk and Borisov, Pinsk and Klimovichi, as well as many other cities of the Republic. The furniture industry occupies a worthy place among all branches of Belarus’ forestry complex, accounting for around 30-40 percent of total exports. In order to continue to successfully promote our produce in foreign markets, furniture producers must ensure the competitiveness of their goods. The modernisation of outdated production techniques and the installation of new equipment and technologies should be actively introduced.
This is the course chosen by the Kalinkovichi Furniture Factory; which have been making furniture since 1938 and which is able to preserve the traditions of quality in a modern environment. The factory managed to come out of administration after the installation of new Italian equipment in February 2010. Since then, production volume has increased by 30 percent each year and, in 2012, over 40 new jobs were created at the premises during the reconstruction. All these signs show that Kalinkovichi is able to produce a competitive product — something widely demanded on the domestic and foreign markets.
Today, the factory manufactures around 300 varieties of furniture, with over 50 percent of the total production being exported, testifying to the recent decisions of the company, with its primary customers being the countries of the Customs Union — the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.
Today, Belarusian furniture can be purchased in 50 countries around the world. However, it doesn’t stop there, since each specialist is aware that the market for Belarusian furniture has huge potential. Such factors as quality, environmental friendliness of materials and presentable appearance of the products confirm that competitiveness in this branch is at a strong level. Only a few issues need to be solved regarding production modernisation, and the positioning of one’s own goods in other states. National manufacturers would benefit from the examples shown by the Kalinkovichi Furniture Factory, which is illustrating the way forward.
