The government shows great interest in exploring business opportunities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Timber industry players in Sarawak were urged to explore and secure market share in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This was evident last year from a trade mission led by Sarawak's Head of State and former Prime Minister, His Excellency Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Sarawak has identified promising market potential for furniture and tropical timber in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Sarawak's timber industry players were cordially invited to invest in the republic, particularly in furniture manufacturing. Through this program, the government hopes to develop strong Bumiputera furniture retailers to penetrate and compete in open markets.
Describing Sarawak's furniture industry as small, he said national exports of wooden furniture recorded RM5.7 billion in 2013, of which only 0.4% or RM30 million of the market share came from Sarawak. Furniture manufacturers in Sarawak need to step up production and take advantage of our strength in wooden furniture. To improve the furniture sector in Sarawak, he advised the industry to engage strategically with key players, including those in Peninsular Malaysia.
He was grateful for the progress of the furniture industry in Sarawak and hoped that SFIA would continue to work closely with the government to further strengthen the overall development of the sector.
VeNDORS eNTeR NeW DIMeNSION
FURNITURe
CSR PROgRaMMe
According to her, the furniture village is essential to unite and strengthen the local furniture manufacturers to create and promote a brand for Sarawak's furniture.
VIllage PROPOSeD
The S arawak Furniture Industry Association (SFIA) proposed that the state government establish a furniture village as a hub for furniture manufacturing in Sarawak. Sim Lee Beng made the proposal regarding the opening of Sarawak Furniture &. To this end, she hoped that the state government would pay due attention to the proposal for the common good.
SFIA is determined to demonstrate that with greater support from the government, furniture industry players will be able to drive this industry to greater heights and contribute further to the state's economy,” she said. At the Furniture & Home Expo, she said it marked a new milestone for SFIA in promoting "made in Sarawak" furniture, besides providing opportunities to explore new markets and understand the latest trends, including designs of furniture. The furniture village is vital to unite and strengthen local furniture makers in order to create and promote a brand for Sarawak furniture.
SFIA hopes to make this expo an international event in the future to attract foreign visitors and investors. Our domestic market is small and hopefully this expo would help expand the market,” she said. In addition to furniture manufacturers, participants in the expo also included supporting sectors such as project developers, interior designers, insurance companies, electrical appliances dealers and home furnishing consultants.
Their featured items include Acacia and Nibong (Oncosperma) furniture such as living room sets, kitchen sets, outdoor furniture and many more.
TaNJUNg MaNIS
WHY INVeST IN
Because of its strategic location, Tanjung Manis was an ideal site for the wood-related industries that later developed into a shipbuilding center. Being one of the new growth nodes in SCORE, he said Tanjung Manis is earmarked for Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in the central region covering 400,000 hectares or 40 percent of Sarawak's oil palm estates. Tanjung Manis was declared in 2008 as one of the largest halal hubs in the region covering an area of more than 77,000 hectares for halal food processing, aquaculture and agricultural activities.
STIDC is not only the planner but also the builder, engineer and service provider at Tanjung Manis. In the Middle East markets, demand for halal products will soar and Tanjung Manis will continue to pursue investments. In addition to the industrial and commercial developments, he said, there are also residential developments to cater to the growing population in Tanjung Manis.
What investors can see is that STIDC is not only the planner but also the builder, engineer and service provider in Tanjung Manis. T-Kiosk is a one-stop resource center innovated by TIMEPIECE, one of STIDC's Innovative and Creative Circles (ICC) to facilitate identified wood sampling. Supported by a 'SearchMe' search system, the kiosk provides references and information on identified wood samples displayed as scientific name, colour, grain, texture, density range, strength group, natural durability, borer sensitivity, spices and uses .
With T-Kiosk, the retrieval time for identified wood samples and their references is reduced by 98.8 percent, from 40 minutes to 30 seconds. The cumulative amount saved through this kiosk per year is RM64,436.40 for twenty timber inspectors in five STIDC offices in Kuching, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu and Tanjung Manis. The advantages of the T-Kiosk include creating public awareness and interest in identified wood samples and their uses, in addition to facilitating and speeding up wood sampling based on the Do-It-Yourself concept.
Ting Leong Yik, Director of Sendirian Tropical Wood Products Berhad, commented that the Kiosk benefits the industry as it facilitates the identification of wood samples. The kiosk is beneficial to the industry because it shortens the retrieval time for identified wood samples. Meanwhile, Sarawak Timber Association Director General Dr Peter Kho said the short time for capturing anatomical features and verifying wood samples against information stored in T-Kiosk's wood sample database is a way innovative use of equipment and technology available to him. assist all personnel involved in timber in one way or another to ensure proper and correct use of timber.
CRaDle-TO-gaTe lCa OF
WORKSHOP
PlYWOOD
Awareness cum Technical Workshop on Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of Plywood was therefore organized to help industry players understand the concepts of environmental issues and the importance of sustainable development as well as the basic requirements for LCA and eco-labelling. LCA is the compilation and evaluation of inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. It describes and analyzes in a quantitative way all important environmental aspects of a product system or technology.
Chen Sau Soon, Senior General Manager of the Standards & Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) presented papers on trends and drivers towards environmental performance quantification: carbon footprint and environmental labels; Concepts of LCA (ISO 14040); Life Cycle Inventory for Eco Profiles – Carbon Footprint; LCA for multiplex (Cradle-to-Gate); and a common approach to collecting inventories (natural forests and forest plantations). The workshop was attended by plywood industry players and jointly organized by STIDC, Sarawak Timber Association, Sarawak Forestry Corporation and Sarawak Forestry Department in Sibu and Bintulu Divisions, Sarawak on June 23 - 24, 2014. The workshop aimed, among other things, to help industry players understand the concepts of environmental issues and the importance of sustainable development, as well as the basic requirements of LCA and eco-labels.
AND TIMBER PRODUCTS
LOGS
JANUARY – JUNE
SAWNTIMBER
OTHER TIMBER PRODUCTS
OUTLOOK
