FURNITURE PARTS AND RAW MATERIALS

Today, furniture is one of the most important and dynamic sectors in Turkey with over US $ 6 billion production, a lmost 25% of which is marketed in international markets, and with 300,000 jobs in 60,000 companies, most of the m small or extremely small. About 40 companies which have over 250 employees exist in the Turkish furniture in dustry. The Istanbul Chamber of Industrys (SO) list of the top 500 industrial establishments in Turkey includes si x furniture companies. These six companies are; Boyta Mobilya San. ve Tic. A.., Merkez elik San. ve Tic. A.. , Merinos Hal San. ve Tic. A.., stikbal Mobilya San. ve Tic. A.., Grammer Koltuk Sistemleri San. Ve Tic. A.., and Yata Yatak ve Yorgan San. Tic. A.. The industry is clustered mainly in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa (neg l) and Kayseri. These regions are either in the center of forest resources or near large domestic markets. The f urniture industry also has particular importance for Turkey due to its promising export potential. In the last decade the sector has directed it s attention to foreign markets and has succeeded in many markets with its quality and design capabilities and technolog ical features. The most important export items are: wooden furniture, seats for motor vehicles, seats convertible into beds, wooden bedroom furniture and metal office furniture. The export figures for the industry in 2008 w ere US $ 1.331 billion, representing an outstanding increase of 29 % with respect to the previous year. The main markets for furniture exports were Germany, Iraq, France, Iran, Greece and the United Kingdom. About ha lf of the exports were directed to EU markets. The furniture industry includes not only primary furniture manufacturing but also huge raw materials and ac cessories industries. Dynamic growth in the Turkish furniture sector has fueled the growth of the furniture ra w materials and accessories sectors. Considering its reputation for high quality furniture, the types of raw materials and components used have to be taken into consideration. Some important inputs produced in Turke y are: chipboard, fiberboard, mediumdensity fiberboard (MDF), various metal frames for chairs and tables, upholstery fabric and leather, filling ma terials, transformation and expandable mechanisms, edge bands, hinges, drawer mechanisms, fixing materials, d oor handles, adhesives, glues etc. The supply chain of the furniture industry extends to timber and timber products, upholstery, metal processing, chemicals, leather and many more sectors, almost all of which Turkey has a welldeveloped and good capacity. There is an increasing demand for high quality timber products for higher quality f urniture manufacturing. Turkey has a highly integrated forest/timber products industry. In Turkey, about half of th e forests are productive forests from which an annual average of 11 million m of industrial wood and 12 million m of firewood are produced. Industrial wood production is mainly directed to the manufacturing of logs, woodbased panels, pulpwood and other wood industries. The sector consists of different traded commodities including logs, sawn timber, veneers, panel products, such as MDF, OSB and plywood, mouldings, doors and door fram es, windows and window frames, parquetry, building material components etc. This sector has seven compan ies in the ISOs list of Top 500 Companies of Turkey in 2007. Upholstery materials (fabric or leather) are one of the key raw materials used in the furniture industry. Turkish furniture manufacturers and exporters are aware of t he fact that market trends and consumer behavior play an important role in the development and design of new products. Since Turkey has a strong textile industry, Turkish furniture manufacturers have the advantage of being able to use and to monitor a wide range of colorful new fabric collections to use as upholstery. Today, Turki sh fabric manufacturers produce healthier and more environmentfriendly products and have ecological labels, such as the OekoTexStandard 100 which is one of the best know n ecolabels. Turkey has a strong metal processing industry, especially in steel and aluminum. All metal pieces fo r the furniture industry are produced in Turkey, and surplus is directed to export. The main metals, extensively used in the furniture industry are iron & steel, aluminum, copper etc. in the form of metal components, fittings , hardware, sheets, pipes, profile, knobs and etc. Paints, coatings, lacquers, adhesives, glues, plastics materials etc. are utilized as important chemical components in t he sector which is developing rapidly with strong demand.

Exports As in the main furniture industry, Turkeys furniture parts and raw materials exports have had an upward trend in recent years. In the last ten years, exports of Turkish furniture parts and raw materials have increased fro m US $ 217 million in 1998 to roughly US $ 1.990 billion in 2008. The export figures for 2008 were US $ 1.990 billion, representing an increase of 16 % with respect to the previous year. Main export products were: tim ber and timber products (MDF, plywood, timber, veneer, etc.), metal products (drawer mechanisms, fixing mate rials, doorhandles, caps, metal sheets, pipes, metal frames, locks, castors, rails, hinges etc), upholstery textiles and a

uxiliary materials, chemical materials ( adhesives and varnishes, glues, plastic sheets and other materials, paints, filling materials etc. ) In 2008, Turkey exported furniture parts and raw materials to over 160 countries throughout the world. The main markets for furniture exports were Germany, Iran, the Russian Fed., Bulga ria, Romania, Iraq, the UK and Georgia.

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