IFEX 2018 promotes local furniture products

Indonesia International Furniture Expo -IFEX- 2018, officially opened friday 9th march. The exhibition was inaugurated by the Head of Creative Economy Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (Badan Ekonomi Kreatif, Bekraf) and Chairman of Indonesia Furniture and Craft Industry Association (HIMKI), Soenoto. The exhibition will run for four days from 9 to 12 March 2018, at the Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran, Jakarta. 

In his opening remarks, Munaf, said furniture industry needs to provide an added-value because without it the industry would only sell a plain commodity. He also appreciated the organizing of IFEX 2018 that is well-arranged and display various high-quality Indonesian furniture products. “Buyers who come to the exhibition are those who are intentionally looking for quality products,” said Munaf. Related to the design and creative aspect, he said his agency continuously working with HIMKI to develop and improve the skill of Indonesian furniture and craft designers. 

On the same occasion, HIMKI Chairman, Soenoto, shared a similar view with Munaf on the importance of added-value to the country’s furniture and craft industry. More added-value means more welfare to the players and the workers. He also emphasized the crucial role of new designs since, “Without new designs, there will be no new products and nothing to sell, hence no business,” said Soenoto. 

To fulfil industry’s requirement for designs and resources, HIMKI and the government has conducted the ground-breaking for the development of Furniture Industry Polytechnic (Politeknik Industri Furnitur), located at Kendal, Central Java. The Polytechnic is established to support the growth and development of the country’s furniture industry. It is also targeted to become an innovation centre as well as R&D centre for furniture and wood processing industry in Indonesia. “HIMKI will continue to develop the country’s furniture and craft industry tirelessly,” said Soenoto. Indonesian furniture and craft industry have a huge potential to keep on growing, both in domestic and international markets. At the same time, the country’s industry players keep on expanding their target market to other regions in the world. Traditionally, the main export destination for Indonesian furniture and craft products are the United States of America, Europe, and China. Today, the players also targeting markets in Africa, Middle East, Russia, and other countries.

As previously reported, HIMKI has also tied collaboration with the Indonesian – Jordanian Business Council to build House of Indonesia (HoI) in Amman, Jordan. The collaboration is expected to broaden the exposure of Indonesian products to the Middle East market with Jordan as the hub. The products to be displayed at the HoI will be curated to ensure their quality and that the products are well-suited to the taste of the Middle Eastern market. The organizing of this year’s IFEX is expected to be livelier since IFEX is recorded to attract more visitors and buyers from 175 countries. The huge market potential offers a handsome opportunity to local manufacturers to expand their business to these countries. “IFEX is getting more attention from global furniture and craft industry players. The huge number of foreign participants proves that IFEX’s reverberation as the biggest and well-organized furniture and craft exhibition in Indonesia has reached the global audience. In this exhibition, buyers can find a variety of quality products with competitive pricing to fulfil the market demand of their respective country,” said Soenoto. Besides the exhibition, IFEX 2018 has also prepared various facilities and supporting programs. One of the programs for visitors and buyers is the series of seminars that are scheduled to take place on Saturday to Sunday at the Bromo Room of the Trade Centre Building, Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran, Jakarta. The seminars will discuss various topics such as “Strategies to Increase Production Capacity”, “Overview of Requirements to Sell Furniture in the United States”, and “From Zero to Hero”. The seminars will feature a number of local and international speakers.