Furniture city on the cards to promote industry, exports

Sweden’s IKEA promises assistance for the industrial zone.

FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) is setting up a furniture city in its industrial zone where imported wood seasoning plants will be established to manufacture furniture of international standard.

“FIEDMC has joined hands with Swedish firm IKEA, one of the largest furniture manufacturing companies of the world, for its presence and assistance for the furniture city, which will lead to increase in exports from Pakistan,” said Amir Saleemi, Chief Operating Officer of FIEDMC, while talking to The Express Tribune.



IKEA, which designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds, chairs and desks as well as appliances and home accessories, had furniture showrooms in many countries around the world, he said.

Thousands of people around Faisalabad are associated with the business of furniture manufacturing, but unfortunately the industry is mostly unregistered and works at the local level.

Chiniot, a city neighbouring Faisalabad and famous for its woodworks including furniture, exports millions of rupees worth of furniture every year as it has handsome demand in the international market. The industry could earn more foreign exchange if it is registered and works for promoting exports.

For this purpose and to produce furniture of international standard, the FIEDMC is setting up the furniture city in the Faisalabad industrial estate.

Now for the first time in the country’s history, light-weight and moveable wood furniture of world standard would be produced in the furniture city, Saleemi said, pointing out that in the modern age heavy furniture had no demand in the international market and only domestic customers were attracted by such products.

The light-weight and moveable furniture will also be exported to the world market where demand is high to meet the needs of offices, shopping malls, buildings and plazas.

The project will produce 200,000 jobs and also bring together people engaged in this business but are scattered around the city.

According to Saleemi, FIEDMC will provide all assistance, machinery and most importantly furniture showrooms of international standard where buyers, including overseas customers, will be able to pick with ease the design of their choice and book orders.

FIEDMC management will also build a skill development centre in the furniture city in an attempt to train artisans in coming up with good and attractive designs. In Pakistan too, best-quality wood is produced that can be utilised to manufacture furniture.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2014.

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