Bangladesh mfrs. will tour Canadian factories
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2007
Oakville, Ontario — A group of furniture manufacturers from Bangladesh will tour factories in Ontario and Quebec in November in an effort to establish production partnerships.
The tour will be guided by the Aktrin Furniture Information Center, based here.
"Fierce competition from low-cost imports poses a formidable challenge to Canadian furniture manufacturers," Aktrin President Stefan Wille said. "The need to relocate production to offshore sites is increasingly becoming a necessity to survive and prosper in the furniture business."
However, selecting the best offshore location requires constant reassessment of the business environment and cost structure of each country considered, he said. Wille noted that at one time, Mexico was the country of choice, but it lost its competitive edge to Taiwan and later to China and Vietnam.
"Forward-looking entrepreneurs continue to search for more advantageous locations, and it may very well be that Bangladesh — with its huge but still untapped potential — will become a furniture supplier to the North American market," Wille said.
On behalf of the Local Enterprise Investment Center of Bangladesh, Aktrin will bring five top Bangladeshi furniture companies to Canada with the objective of exploring production outsourcing opportunities or other forms of long-term joint ventures with Canadian furniture manufacturers.
LEIC is funded in part by the Canadian International Development Agency. Bangladeshi companies considering collaboration with Canadian furniture companies will qualify for financial assistance for pre-investment feasibility studies. LEIC also will assist in the implementation phase.
"The Bangladeshi economy is developing at a fast pace and the government has declared the furniture industry as a 'thrust sector'," said Wille.
Bangladesh enjoys several advantages typically linked to developing nations, he said. Wage rates are below those in China, Vietnam, India and other furniture exporting nations, and labor is abundant and skilled in hand carving, said Wille.
In addition, he said, "Its exports have duty-free and quota-free access to countries in Europe and North America. These benefits are not granted to the same extent to most of Bangladesh's Asian competitors."
Aktrin has pre-selected several Canadian furniture manufacturers in Ontario and Quebec that appear to be suitable candidates for off-shore furniture production in Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi delegation will visit with several Canadian companies between Nov. 12 and Nov. 23.
Aktrin is seeking a few additional Canadian companies that may be interested in meeting the delegation. For information, contact Wille at (905) 845-3473 or e-mail him at aktrin@aktrin.com.
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