Furniture manufacturers, who are facing severe competition from the unorganised players and direct imports, have come forward to float an association to take up issues affecting the industry. | |
| The new body called Association of Furniture Manufacturers of India (AFMI), will be initially based in Bangalore and have a regional presence later in the north and west, said Sampath Raghavan, secretary of AFMI and director V3 Engineers. |
| |
| The objective of the association is to promote healthy business practices, ethics and a sense of responsibility among furniture manufacturers, he added. |
| |
| The association plans to take up with the government furniture manufacturers' demands for better tax and other benefits. It will seek assistance for exports on the lines given by countries like Thailand and Indonesia. |
| |
| As part of the awareness creation, AFMI is holding a meeting on February 16 with facility managers of companies, architects, project management professionals and real estate consultants. |
| |
| Currently, the Indian furniture market is worth about Rs 35,000 crore, of which only 15 per cent is met by the organised sector. The industry is likely to grow to Rs 75,000 crore by 2010 with the organised sector contributing around Rs 20,000 crore. |
| |
| With a market of this size, AFMI is likely to be a significant player and efforts are being made to tap the potential of Bangalore to make it the hub of furniture market, said Ravi Cavale, treasurer of AFMI and director, Ergo Spaces. |
| |
| The other aims of the association include creating awareness about standardisation, a benchmark organisation for setting standards in the domestic furniture industry, creating an infobank, pursuing research on new materials and technologies, and setting up a technical training centre for operators. |
| |
|
| |
