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The Branch Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industry (BCWFI) and the Bulgarian Industrial Association invited companies from Velingrad and Rakitovo from the industry on December 12 at the Palace Hotel. The topic was the most up-to-date at the moment - what are the prospects for the development of the woodworking and furniture industry in the conditions of European integration. The host of the two-day meeting was the local association of furniture manufacturers "Rodopska furniture-Velingrad", whose chairman Vladimir Kotsev opened the forum. The chairman of BKDM Kalin Simeonov explained from the very beginning that a major problem of the companies since January 1, 2007. will be whether they are competitive within the free European market. In the new EU member states, there are almost no companies closed because they do not meet the requirements. But there are a lot of businesses that go bankrupt because they can't compete. One way for firms to be more competitive, which is heavily relied on in the EU, is the creation of regional clusters. By itself, each of us is too small to be equivalent to the foreign market. Therefore, it is imperative the unification of the industry, with Mr. Simeonov recommending furniture manufacturers to seek unification with wood processors from the region as well.
Do not think that from January 1 next year something terrible will happen, which psychosis is rampant, reassured Genoveva Hristova, Executive Director of BKDMP, who was present. She also stressed the crucial role of creating a cluster as a low-level pool to achieve lower costs and better profits. And remind furniture manufacturers that since 2008 on the Bulgarian market enters the giant IKEA, which will flood the Bulgarians with goods at low prices.
What is the European practice for cluster development explained John Murray, an English expert, one of the leading in the EU on the subject. The oldest example of a cluster is the Istanbul market, typical are the financial center in London and Silicon Valley in California. So far, only two clusters have been created in Bulgaria: Troyan Furniture and Rodopi Tourism. The cluster in Troyan has developed quality criteria, which must be met by every product that wants to receive the brand "Furniture from Troyan". There are no privileged, there is general advertising, marketing and imposing in the market, use of larger discounts when purchasing materials for production, distribution of work. The EU brings more money, but also a new competitive spirit - it takes what you have and then removes you, John Murray warned. "Bless us!" the attendees spontaneously exclaimed. Mr Murray continued with a new dose of English humor: the affirmation of a company on the European market requires year after year hard and hard work, and it is also hard work who will have a better car... His advice: in the EU there is no lack of money, but of brains; the most important thing is for business to develop skills for creating and writing projects, to develop relationships with each other and with the world. This should be the new way of thinking in Bulgaria in 2007. And Velingrad has great potential because there is a unique combination of numerous companies from the woodworking and furniture industry plus professional schools of forestry and woodworking. Therefore, Velingrad is one of the first Bulgarian cities where cluster-creation studies have yielded positive results.
The question is how we will break our own mentality, how we will agree to work together in a cluster and distribute a percentage of the profit, the businessmen were frank. In response, Genoveva Hristova reminded them of the tale of woe. This tale will become more and more relevant in the EU - an unwilling form of competition will teach us how to work together to survive in the free market.
Within the framework of the working meeting, another step was taken in this direction: a regional division of the Bulgarian Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industry was established on the territory of the municipality of Velingrad. And in the second day, business owners were familiar with the legal basis for ensuring safe working conditions.
Elena Baeva