Panels & Furniture Asia September/October 2024

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Vietnam. Wang already has a dealer in Malaysia — and he participated in the Malaysia Wood Expo last year — and thus, signing the northern Vietnamese agent is their next step in further penetrating the Vietnam market. Furthermore, Vietnam’s economy has been growing exponentially, leading to an increase in demand for panel and solid wood furniture for the high-end housing and construction industries. Recent statistics support Wang’s statement.* As of August, H1 2024 recorded a 21% year-on- year increase in forestry exports to approximately US$7.95, which includes wood furniture products. Although the industry was hit hard by rising US interest rates last year, since Vietnam exports heavily to the US and Europe, as the world economy is recovering, Vietnam’s

timber and wood products export is on its way to hit their estimated export targets — maybe even exceeding it. Based in China, but with exports to over 100 countries, Excitech develops semi- and fully-automated CNC machining centres for the furniture industry — a capability that the northern Vietnamese agent expressed great confidence in, as Excitech is reportedly the “first in China” to produce CNC machines, and has had “significant” influence in the development of CNC machinery regionally and globally.** The agent commented: “Vietnamese furniture manufacturers enjoy the stability and durability of Excitech’s solutions; the difference in quality compared to European-made products is almost negligible. As such, we hope our collaboration

can help develop the Vietnamese furniture market. We are currently in negotiations for downstream cooperation.” Currently, the southern region of Vietnam, consisting of Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City, is much more developed than the north. The reason for this is because many Taiwanese and Chinese furniture manufacturers relocated to southern Vietnam first. However, both the agent and Wang observed that the northern region, which includes Hanoi, is catching up, and hence Excitech wants to make their move quick, especially against mounting competition with other Chinese machine manufacturing brands. P

*For recent information on the Vietnam market, flip to page 14.

**For a company profile on Excitech, read more in Panels & Furniture Asia September / October 2023 issue.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 | PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA 49

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