GERMANY – Despite the challenging economic environment, the German furniture industry increased its national sales last year by almost seven percent to EUR 20.97 billion (companies with 20 and more employees). The key region of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the companies in Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) in particular made a significant contribution to this development: furniture industry sales in NRW rose by around six percent to EUR 8.4 billion, for OWL there was an increase of 8.4 percent to EUR 6.4 billion.

CHINA – According to the Academy of Industry Development and Planning under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) and the China Forestry Products Industry Association (CFPIA) there were 295 particleboard manufacturing enterprises and 314 production lines at the end of 2022 with a production capacity of 41.48 million cubic metres, up 6% year on year.

SPAIN – AMC, the Spanish Kitchen Furniture Association, has reviewed the past financial year 2022, in which the turnover of its associated kitchen furniture manufacturers increased by 16.14% year-on-year, while that of the other member companies increased by 8.28%.

PERU – Peruvian imports of particleboard (PB / MDP) reached USD 27.1 million in the period January-February 2023.

CHILE – On March 17, Arauco acquired the entire stake held by Etex in E2E S.A., a company dedicated to the development of dry construction solutions of high standards, which currently has a presence in Chile and Brazil.

GERMANY – Anyone looking for new furniture can now make a sustainable purchase decision even better: The German Quality Association for Furniture (DGM) has developed the new quality mark “Furniture – circularly sustainable” and launched it together with RAL.

BELGIUM – EPLF, European Producers of Laminate Flooring Association, announced that Wemhöner Surface Technologies has joined the association as of February 2023.

COLOMBIA – Colombian imports of European machinery for secondary wood processing (wood-based panels) reached USD 5.57 million in 2022. This represented a significant drop of 32.6% compared to the previous year (2021: USD 8.26 million).

GERMANY – As the trade show with the world’s widest range of processing machinery for wood construction, Ligna 2023 will examine the focus topic “Prefab Building Processes” from all angles.

RUSSIA – The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announces the withdrawal of Russia’s remaining forest management certificates by their respective certification bodies.

ITALY – 2022 closed positively for italian woodworking technology.

ITALIA – With over 95% of the votes, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of FederlegnoArredo resolved that Claudio Feltrin , current president in office until 2024, will continue his mandate for another two years, until 2026.