Study visit to Germany & Sweden

The development of Furntech’s technical facilitators was further enhanced when five members of Furntech’s technical staff were sent on a study visit to Germany and Sweden in May 2005.

The team of facilitators from Cape Town, Durban and Umzimkhulu were lead by the National Training and Technical Managers.

In Germany the team visited two major trade shows. The first stop was the exhibition centre in Koeln to experience Interzum, the trade show for hardware, consumables, raw materials, upholstery, and furniture design. The next stop was Hannover and Ligna, which is the world's largest exhibition of furniture, sawmilling and forestry processing equipment.

At Interzum the technical team particularly enjoyed the latest developments in furniture hardware and fittings such as the silent shutting door and drawer mechanisms and kitchen designs that take the stretch and strain out of accessing cupboards and drawers. Good contacts were established with suppliers interested in using Furntech's facilities as technology demonstration centres.

The focus at Ligna was on raw material and process optimisation while maximising ergonomic and environmental efficiencies. Most of the equipment on show at Ligna demonstrated how technology development today is driven by the incorporation of PLCs and computer aided machining processes.

The team then travelled by road to Sweden where they were the guests of Furntech's Swedish skills partner, the Tibro Training Centre (TTC). From their base at TTC they visited eight factories and were impressed by the sprit of cooperation and openness that is characteristic of the Swedish manufacturing environment.