GERMANY – It was a challenging year for the German kitchen industry, yet Volker Irle CEO of the German Kitchen Manufacturers Association (AMK) drew a positive conclusion for the year 2017 at the 9th AMK business press conference in Cologne.

POLAND – One of the largest European flat pack furniture manufacturers Fabryki Mebli “Forte” S.A. is starting production at its new particleboard line in Suwalki, Poland.

POLAND –Forte, one of the main global manufacturers of RTA furniture, has awarded the Homag Group a major contract for one of the “most modern furniture productions worldwide”, according to a statement.

BRAZIL – Brazilian furniture producer, Ditália, presented at the recent Movelsul furniture show in Bento Gonçalves, RS a sideboard and TV table from its new product range featuring Threespine® assembly technology.

COLOMBIA – Colchones Paraíso, specializing in solutions for rest and sleep segment, announced the acquisition of Muebles & Accesorios, manufacturer and retail of home furniture.

BRAZIL – Unicasa Indústria de Móveis, one of Brazil’s leading custom-made furniture manufacturers and the only publicly held company in the segment, faced a challenging 2017 by undergoing a restructuring process that included closing 132 loss-making or low productivity stores, a 32% scale down of the company’s distribution network.

PORTUGAL -Movelpartes, manufacturer of components for the furniture industry and a subsidiary of the Sonae Industria Group, completed in the second half of 2017 a €2.8 million investment that allows the company to more than duplicate its production capacity.

GERMANY – In 2017 Schüller continued its stable growth as sales climbed by 5.4 percent to 449 million euros.

GERMANY – The Iconic World jury presented Häcker Küchen with the renowned Iconic Award 2018 – Interior Design for the SlightLift wall unit, which was recently presented for the first time at the in-house exhibition in 2017.

COLOMBIA – In 2017, Colombian exports of wooden furniture totaled USD 31.9 million, a figure that represented a growth of 16.8% when compared to the USD 27.3 million reached in 2016.

GERMANY – Nobilia, the largest kitchen cabinet manufacturer in Europe, has purchased a 30-hectare area in Saarlouis and will begin building a new manufacturing plant there.

SPAIN – According to ANIEME, during 2017 exports of Spanish furniture exceeded EUR 2,113 million, a 2.4% increase compared to furniture exports registered in 2016.