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Wood and Lifestyle Fair 2016 Initiative to promote SMEs and enhance productivity in furniture and timber industry.
BUMIPUTRA ENTREPRENEURSHIP in the woodworking industry is far from significant, noted Malaysian Timber Industry Board( MTIB) Director General Dr Jalaluddin Harun during his opening speech at the Wood and Lifestyle Fair 2016. Further, he remarked, statistics has it that of the total wood products export, valued at RM22.14 billion in 2015( with RM7.3 billion attributed to wood furniture alone), the Bumiputra contribution amounted to only RM371 million. Further, as of 2015, only 345( or 9.5 %) of the 3,529 wood and furniture manufacturers in Malaysia are Bumiputra-owned and operated- even so 326( or 95 %) of these companies are smallsized businesses.
Reasons cited for the inability of these small and medium enterprises( SMEs) to enhance productivity, increase marketability or aspire to a larger market share at home and abroad include, among others, lack of capital, limited technology and‘ backyard’- type manufacturing facilities. In addressing these shortcomings, MTIB has put into place a number of initiatives and programmes for the wood-based industry such as the recent Wood and Lifestyle Fair held in Kuala
MTIB Director General Dr Jalaluddin Harun delivering his opening speech.
Lumpur from 20-22 May at Putra World Trade Centre.
Fair 2016 Agenda Themed“ Wood Inspires Lifestyle”, the three-day event showcased a wide assortment of wood products for the interior design and building construction industry( home and office furniture, flooring, etc.), live demos( traditional wood-carving, aromatic oils, extraction of gaharu resin, etc.) and SME services( contract manufacturing and supply). Concurrent with the Fair, feature presentations by industry professionals and the academia covered subjects that ranged from the aesthetics of timber to applications of engineered timber in construction, biocomposite products and applications, the international design scenario and careers in wood-based industries.
Other MTIB Initiatives The Wood and Lifestyle Fair 2016 represents but one of several MTIB programmes that are designed to promote the industry both upstream and down – others under MTIB’ s stewardship / sponsorship include:
�‘ Program Sokong Bahan Mentah’, i. e., assistance in securing raw materials- since 2012 and up to March 2016, MTIB has approved 64 applications up to value of RM68.07 million;
�‘ Pinjaman Mesin’ under‘ Projek Peningkatan Kapasiti Pengeluaran’, procurement of machines( CNCs, panel and beam saws, etc) to increase production capacity and encourage creativity and innovation;
�‘ Program Pembangunan Modal Insan’, a yearly programme to develop skills in technical knowledge and training, as well as financing and management;
�‘ Program Pengurusan LEAN’, for improvement and upgrading of wood processing techniques;
� develop and promote marketability and markets for wood products through participation in foreign and domestic trade fairs, exhibitions- a specialpurpose vehicle of note is the Furniture Design Programme( branded as TANGGAM) where local designers are given the opportunity to showcase their talents at international exhibitions, e. g., i-Saloni at Milan. �
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