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FURNITURE INDUSTRY
IN TURKEY
Furniture production in Turkey dates back to the 19th century and
was done in small workshops as artisan production. However, by the
rapid globalization and all other aspects, present furniture
industry is becoming a fashion sector. In Turkey, furniture is
produced both in workshops and industrial-scale manufacturing units.
Furniture production is highly fragmented among a large number of
small workshops. These small workshops play an important role in
producing hand carved and handmade furniture. Workshops are flexible
establishments in nature and have enough capacity and labour force
to expand their production line in order to supply large orders.
Large-scale furniture firms produce standard models by using
automated mass-production techniques and most of their production is
oriented towards export. According to the recent General Census of
Industry and Business Establishments (2002), the furniture sector
employs 92,567 people and the industry has 29,346 companies
manufacturing various furniture. Moreover capacity data of The Union
of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)
reports 40 companies who have over 250 employees and 155 companies
who have over 100 employees. Besides, Istanbul Chamber of Industry's
list of the top 500 industrial establishments of Turkey includes six
furniture companies. According to the list, these six companies are;
Merkez Celik San. ve Tic. A.S, Boytas Mobilya San. ve Tic. A.S,
Merinos Hah Sanayi ve Tic. A.S, istikbal Mobilya San. ve Tic. A.S,
Grammer Koltuk Sistemleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.§ and Yatas Yatak ve
Yorgan San. Tic. A.S, .
Furniture production in Turkey is concentrated mainly in istanbul,
Ankara, Bursa (inegol), Kayseri, izmir and Adana. The most important
furniture production districts are istanbul and the region of Bolu-Diizce,
which is famous for its production of wood products. The well-known
furniture-manufacturing district in Turkey, called "Siteler", is
located in Ankara. The number of registered small and medium sized
enterprises in "Siteler" is over 10,000. In Ankara, there are many
labour - intensive small enterprises manufacturing classical-handmade
furniture and there are about 10 major furniture manufacturers who
have mass-production capabilities. The wood industry is developing
rapidly in the Bursa-inegol area, the third most important furniture
production region, which is surrounded by forest areas. The
furniture industry of the inegol area is small sized but has great
potential to improve itself. Another important furniture region is
Kayseri, which has large capacity for the production of sofa beds,
couch beds and seven of the twenty two largest manufacturers of
Turkey are established here, izmir also has a furniture production
districts called "Karabaglar and Kisikkoy" which supply furniture to
the Aegean Region.
Production
In Turkey, furniture production can be classified in accordance with
materials used as wooden furniture (massive and veneered), metal
furniture and others. Wooden furniture has a major share in total
furniture production. As it is known for good quality furniture, the
types of wood used and plywood inputs have to be taken into
consideration. The main types of wood used in the manufacture of
massive furniture in Turkey are ash, beech, oak, pine, linden and
mahogany. In veneered furniture, oak, beech, walnut and mahogany are
used.
Turkish furniture factories use the latest technologies in producing
furniture, which is always up to world standards. Since 1990 the
application of advanced technology and the use of CNC benches in the
Turkish furniture industry have been increasing. Today, all of the
large enterprises in the furniture sector use CNC benches. Most
companies are equipped with modern machinery which allows the
production of good, export-quality products. Quality control starts
from the stage when the raw material is produced and continues till
the end of the packaging process. Most of the companies have already
obtained ISO 9000 certificates and other required quality
certificates. The large scale firms comply with world standards in
their packaging processes. In packaging PE, PP, foam, poly-urethane
and cardboard boxes are used. Many of the large companies have
special packaging sections.
As with many other consumer products, furniture production is
sensitive to changes in fashion. Since furniture design is an
important aspect of marketing, Turkish designers are constantly
following consumer preferences in foreign markets and introduce new
designs and make model variations and improvements.
Turkish furniture manufacturers and exporters are aware of the fact
that market trends and consumer behavior play an important role in
the development and design of new products. Since Turkey has a
strong textile industry, Turkish furniture manufacturers have the
advantage of being able to use and to monitor a wide range of
colorful new fabric collections as upholstery.
Exports
Turkey's furniture exports have had an upward trend in recent years.
In the last ten years, exports of Turkish furniture increased from
US $ 105,3 million in 1998 to roughly US $ 1,026 million in 2007.
This is mainly due to improvements in quality and design. The export
figure for 2007 was US $ 1,026 million, representing an increase of
34 % with respect to the previous year. Main export products were:
other wooden furniture, seats for motor vehicles, seats convertible
into beds, wooden bedroom furniture and metal office furniture. In
2006, Turkey ranked fourth in the world exports of seats convertible
into beds which also traditional items are showing the large family,
hospitality and past nomadic characteristics of our nation.
In 2007, Turkey exported furniture to 160 countries throughout the
world. The main markets for furniture exports were Germany, Iraq,
France, Iran, Greece and Netherland. In last five years, Turkish
furniture companies have been establishing showrooms and depots in
increasing numbers in most of these countries. The Turkish
contracting sector is one of the major sectors exporting services.
Turkish contractor companies who have undertaken construction work
abroad have completed many housing complexes, tourism projects,
hospitals and health center projects, most of which were decorated
with Turkish furniture.
Turkish furniture is designed and made from the highest quality
materials to ensure comfort, performance and attractive appearance
for a very long life. Different styles are produced such as
classical, traditional and contemporary. With its designers and
architects combined with its flexible production capacity, the
Turkish furniture industry is able to satisfy the requirements of
all individual markets all over the world.
Today, with all these aspects of the furniture industry, Turkey is
among the most promising furniture suppliers in the world.
Turkish furniture is exhibited in many international and local fairs
organized in Turkey. In 2008, above 20 fairs will be organized in
this sector.
Some of them are;
• iMOB 2008-lstanbul Furniture Fair, in istanbui, in January
• ZOW 2008-Furniture Components and Accessories Fair, in istanbui,
in January
• MODEKO 2008 Furniture, Decoration, Office Furniture, in izmir, in
April
• MODEF 2008 inegoi Furniture&Decoration Fair, in Bursa, in April
and December.
• INTERMOB'2008 Furniture, Sub-industries and Accessories, in
istanbui, in November
• MODEV 2008 Fair of Furniture and Decoration, in Ankara, in May.
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