Wood and Furniture Industry
- Growth in production of furniture in 2008 by 10.1%
- Growth of wooden products export in 2008 by 8.9% in amount of 387 million USD
- Growth of wooden joinery and elements export by 18.0%, wooden packaging by 29.6% and furniture 14.8%
- Serbia suffices in final products, while it records deficit in primary processing (intermediate products and raw materials)
History in Short The development and growth of this sector is associated with the banking sector expansion ever since 2000 and, consequently, issuing personal loans. The demand for furniture had generated creation and expansion of new companies - upholstery producers. Out of numerous companies that once dominated the market, SIMPO is the only one that survived and remains the biggest in our region. When looking at the production size and market presence, Dallas is the second largest producer in Serbia, while Lagado, Eurosalon and Extraform are widely recognized for its style and quality. Serbian companies are dominating the region, namely in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the markets of Croatia and Albania.
Solid Wood Furniture Production One of the sectors with bright future is production of massive furniture offering comparative advantages such as: local raw materials, low priced labor force, energy prices lower than in other European countries, and strategic geographic position that allows fast shipment. All these benefits represent significant favorable gain in comparison to the Asian competition. Almost all producers of solid wood furniture from Serbia are successful, as they are only focused on exporting markets of Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland. Namely GIR, Kolarevic, Product Pecenjevce, Trifunovic, Ginko, and others.
Chipboard Furniture Production Starting in 2000, demand growth at the domestic market caused greater changes that impacted the production of chipboard furniture leading to serious investments into automated production lines. The serious serial production was then initiated at the local and surrounding markets. Serbian companies that do not lag behind any European producers of this furniture are Forma Ideale, Jela and Novart. In addition, there are the companies specialized in production of chipboards out of which one is owned by Kronospan, the largest multinational company in this domain, and Fantoni, an Italian investment in Serbia.
Interior Design Interior design is one of the most complex segments requiring a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience. Excellent organization is absolutely necessary, because it entails production, that is not serial, and interior fabrication, done under great deadline pressures. Companies in this line of work usually have an engineering department that completes the offer for the client. For couple of years a great number of Serbian companies is not only successful in the neighboring countries of Montenegro and Greece, but also in the Russian Federation. Serbian companies work with their clients as contractors or as subcontractors. Since Serbia developed great reputation during the Yugoslavian era many companies have continued with the same quality, namely Enterijer Jankovic, Entero, Simpo Line, and Gir.
