After two days, 10.5% more visitors

Annual meeting of furniture manufacturers

Traditionally, on the second day of DREMA, the National Furniture Congress was held. This was the 9th edition of this event, the theme of which this year focused on the prospects of the Polish furniture and wood industry. The Furniture Congress was attended by more than 100 representatives of furniture manufacturers, the wood industry and the business environment. It was opened by Jarosław Michniuk, Member of the Council of the Polish Chamber of Commerce of Furniture Manufacturers and President of the Board of Paged Meble, Piotr Poziomski, President of the Polish Economic Chamber of Wood Industry, and Elżbieta Roeske, Vice-President of the Board of the MTP Group.

The introduction to the discussion was made by Tomasz Wiktorski of B+R Studio, who presented the current situation in the wood and furniture industry. As he emphasised in his presentation, the value of furniture exports increased in the previous year, but the volume of exports has been gradually decreasing since 2021.

At the same time, he pointed out the challenges that the industry has to face, such as the jump in the price of wood in recent years, restrictions in its supply, competition for raw material with the energy sector or the unfavourable exchange rate of the zloty. All of these factors exacerbate the competitiveness of the Polish furniture industry on global markets.

A rebound in furniture sales is possible

In addition, high geopolitical risk and conflicts in various parts of the world have a negative impact on sentiment and the business cycle. Fortunately, the situation in the construction industry is slowly improving, which should have a positive impact on domestic demand in perspective. ‘A rebound in furniture sales is possible, but it will not come alone. It requires hard work by the entire industry,’ Tomasz Wiktorski concluded.

The congress also discussed the challenges and risks of wood raw material supply, the benefits of forest management certification and the PR of the furniture and wood industry.

At the end, the Furniture Ambassadors statuettes were presented. This year's recipients of this honourable award included DREMA Trade Fair and Joanna Kucharska, Product Group Director responsible for organising DREMA and MEBLE POLSKA at the MTP Group.

Flooring at the Technologists' Forum

Wednesday was also the second day of the Technologists' Forum - a new event at DREMA, aimed at promoting the latest solutions among technological staff from the wood and furniture industries. Lectures and discussions were devoted to the production of floors for special requirements (e.g. for electric heating), dimensional variability of wood flooring elements, composite materials in the furniture industry and tools for their processing, as well as types and use of circular saws in the furniture industry.

As every day, lectures and talks also took place in the Knowledge Zone of the drewno.pl portal, in the Sustainable Development Zone and the Parquet Zone.

Wednesday was also the second day of competition in the ‘Next Generation’ Father and Son Parquet Championships, held in pavilion 3. Today, the task of the family teams was to sand and oil parquet floors.

Thursday at DREMA

Tomorrow is another busy at the DREMA trade fair. Particularly noteworthy is the Meeting of Women Associated with the Furniture Industry, which will be held for the fifth time. The theme of this year's edition is: Success = passion x development x challenges.