The furniture industry in Romania began in 1915 when the companies were about 15 and provided work to 70 people. Naturally, the production structure developed over the years so that in 2000 the companies operating in the sector were 1,800, for a total workforce of 104,000 people and an estimated turnover of about 20.5 billion Lei (700 million Euro). In 2001 the export amounted to about 500 million Euro. The sector divides as follows:

- n° 1,500 companies with a workforce between 1 and 49.
- n° 200 companies with a workforce between 49 and 200.
- n° 100 companies with more than 201 employees.

As one can see, the production structure (which also includes the producers of wood components and accessories) is constituted mainly by small size companies.
As far as the location of the major industrial districts is concerned, in Romania there are various areas in specific geographic regions. Transylvania is the area with the largest number of companies and it is for this reason that the Italian Group Frati has set up the Sebes production units there (see chapter on the panel industry).

Production centres in specific areas are:

* North West : Tergu Mures, Arab, Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Satu Mare and Timisoara.
* North East: Iasi, Suceava, Piatra Neamt, Bacau.
* South: Pitesti and Bucarest.
* South East: Baila and Costanta.

To have a better understanding of the sector, we went to Bucharest to visit the Asociatiei Producatorilor de Mobila din Romania (APRM), which is the Rumanian Association of furniture producers, whose President in office is Mr. Andrei Menhardt owner of the Silvarom furniture factory in Bucharest. Executive President is Mr. Aurel Rizea who, during our visit, stated: ”Our association counts 180 company members who, together, make up the 60% of total turnover, and our objective is to increase the number of associates through promotion activities and development programs on foreign markets. Up to 1989 Russia represented a good export market for our products, but after the fall of the communist central power, we lost this market completely. We are at present working towards regaining the Russian market and a group of 26 companies will exhibit at the next Mebel fair in Moscow. Today our main customers are Germany, France, Holland and Italy (see table on Rumanian Exports). Rumanian furniture is traditional and made with solid wood. Modern furniture is not produced very much, due to the fact that there are no companies producing plastic laminates, apart from Sebes which produces finished panels.
On the other hand, there is a significant amount of good modern kitchen and living room furniture imported from abroad.
The UE has recently financed a competition for young European designers, who have already presented 100 projects. Prizes will be assigned during the next Bife exhibition, in September.
In order to reduce production costs, we are setting up buying consortia and putting pressure on the relative organisation to lower the cost of electric power.”

The conquest of Romania
Thanks to its abundance of  wood based raw materials and low labour cost, a number of companies have built factories in Romania or acquired existing businesses.
There are various Italian companies setting up business in Romania, amongst these is Mario Felice Nusco owner of the company bearing the same name and located in Nola (near Naples) specialised in the production of doors. 1997 sees the start of the gradual acquisition of the Pipera Sa factory (company founded in 1960), which completes in 2002.                         
Today, there are two of Nusco’s companies here : Pinum and Pipera.
The first is a sawmill for boards in oak and beech wood which can produce about 35,000 cu. m./year as well as wooden doors.
Pipera is a financing and commercial company which owns the industrial space.
The Nusco Group  in Romania gives work to 1,500 people and is managed by Mario Felice Nusco, the President together with his son Michele, his brother Antonio, Mr. Aldo Pompei and Mr. Vincenzo Aquino.
The company Natural Est (see chapter on the panel industry) was founded by the Italian Gianfranco Splendiani, who is now the President.
Other Italian enterprises include Effe Zeta of Udine which is building a factory for the production of chairs in Sovata (in the province of Mures) and Natuzzi which is setting up the company Isofa in Baiamare (in the province of Mara Mures) for the production of living room furniture and armchairs.
Other countries are also entering the market : the Spanish Holding Euro Gallia has acquired Diana Forest of Bacau, saw mill and manufacture of doors, windows and parquet).
The Finnish Fin Forest in Calarasi (in the province of Costanta) is building a factory which will have an initial production capacity of 50,000 cu. m./year of  plywood, with the possibility to reach 100,000 cu. m./year.

Alcor
Commercial representative company set up in 1991 by the owner, Mr. Alexandru Oprescu, which sells machinery for sawmills, for furniture production and woodprocessing  in general. We met Mr. Alexandru Ciminian, the company Area Manager who said: “Our company represents a number of prestigious Italian companies: Biesse, Bup Utensili, Giardina, Lazzari, Nardi, Primultini, Saomad, Tvm Termoventilmec, Viet and Vivaldi. The 7 Rumanian regions are divided in 42 administration districts, where also my colleagues Bucur Dumitru, Angelo Purcaro and Liviu Rotari operate. The problem, at present, is the lack of money to invest, even if the annual bank rates have been reduced to 13%. The Rumanian furniture industry has the tendency to do everything in-house and therefore there are very few contract companies.”

Trade fairs in Romania
In addition to trade Organisations and Associations, exhibitions are important events in order to promote one’s business in this country, be it industrial or commercial. The Rumanian exhibition specialised in wood materials, technologies and furniture is Bife-Timb which will take place in Bucharest from the 10th to the 14th of September 2003, and is organised by Romexpo Sa, 65 Marasti Blvd., RO-71331 Bucarest, tel. 0040 21 2243160, Fax 0040 21 2240400.

Technologies representatives
In Romania there is a modest production of wood processing machines, mainly those used in the first phase of processing. Development and innovation have resulted in Rumanian companies equipping themselves with CNC machines, produced mainly in Italy and Germany, and giving rise to specialised commercial companies for the sale of machinery.

Gioia Company ‘72
Set up in 1994 by two sisters, Elena Arghir Florescu and Giorgia Arghir, this is an import-export of wood and related technology from and to Italy. Gioia Company ‘72 imports woodprocessing machines from Italy, these are sold in Romania for the production of wood products, which are then exported to Italy.  Its customers are companies carrying out the first cycle of wood processing, amongst the Italian companies represented are : GMC of Carpi (near Modena), Mion & Mosole of Candelù (near Treviso), Secal of Resana (near Treviso), Storti of Motta Baluffi (near Cremona). For Gioia Company ‘72 the future looks bright, because a lot of companies are now investing in production systems.

To have the list of romanian companies (industry and retail), please ask for the password to datalignum@datalignum.com