Spain's producers gear up
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, November 24, 2003
| Spain's furniture manufacturing at a glance |
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| Source: Technological Institute of Furniture, Wood Products, Packaging and Related Industries, Valencia, Spain. |
Valencia, Spain — Spanish furniture manufacturers are investing in new capacity, upgraded finishes and new styles to expand their business beyond traditional markets in Europe and the Middle East.
Some also have begun to outsource components from local sources or from the former Soviet-bloc countries, where manufacturing costs, especially for labor, are lower than in Western Europe.
While the U.S. market is a target for many producers here, they don't plan to fight a losing price battle with China and other low-cost Asian producers.
The Spaniards hope to use their reputation for high quality and style to stake out a piece of the market for better goods in the States.
Investments in plant and equipment in recent years spurred Spanish furniture shipments to 8.5 billion euros last year, almost double the industry's production in 1993, and most of that growth has gone to export markets.
"From 1995 to 2000, there was lots of renovation and new plant construction," said Inma Rey, assistant manager of the Spanish Assn. of Furniture Manufacturers and Exporters, or ANIEME. "The export and domestic markets were very strong in the mid-1990s. At that time, some of the older factories decided to reinvest in their plants."
ANIEME's 280 member companies include 100 in the Valencia region, the traditional heart of the Spanish furniture industry.
Hurtado, a familiar name to High Point buyers after opening a freestanding showroom there three years ago, stands as an example of the effort Spanish manufacturers are putting into their operations. Last year, the high-end case goods manufacturer moved into a new plant and warehouse on the outskirts of Valencia that already has helped the company cut average lead times to eight weeks from 12 to 16 weeks.
Hurtado invested heavily in CNC production machinery, and the new plant has a warehouse with equipment programmed to store and pick finished goods automatically.
"We also had to have a packaging machine adaptable to the different pieces," said Francisco Hurtado, president. "Five widths of carton material in rollout sheets are used to conform to anything we make. We'll soon install equipment to fully automate the packaging process as product moves out of finishing."
Heavy automation in the plant will help Hurtado add a second shift within the next six to eight months without having to double its workforce.
Space adjacent to the current plant soon will hold more warehousing and a customer showroom, which Hurtado will move from downtown Valencia.
Currently, 70% of Hurtado's business is for export, with 30% of that going to the United States. Spain is the company' largest market, followed by the United States and Japan.
"We're developing all the new U.S. finishes for other markets as well," Hurtado said.
Creaciones Royal, a very high-end case goods manufacturer best known for large marquetry tables, moved into a new 110,000-square-foot plant in April after 29 years in a 30,000-square-foot building. New CNC routers have helped cut lead times from 70 days to between 30 and 45.
"We're a small company with a big name," said Joe Maya, export director, who noted the company holds a Guinness world record for largest marquetry table. "Now, the new factory gives us the opportunity to sell more. The new plant has at least 50% more capacity than our old location. We've halved the production time, even with the specialized dining and conference tables.
"We used to have to say no sometimes — now we don't say no to anything."
About 20% of Creaciones Royal's business is in the United States, where the company works through distributors.
Andreu World, a manufacturer of contemporary chairs and tables for retail and contract markets, has two assembly, machining and finishing plants in the Valencia area — one for chairs, the other for tables — and another chair plant in Pamplona. The company is taking advantage of lower production costs in Eastern Europe with a company-owned components plant in the Ukraine.
"Parts come in from the Ukraine, most in final dimensions, and some with groves and curves cut in," said Javier Garrido, industrial engineer. "We can produce all these parts ourselves in this plant in case of supply-chain problems."
Andreu World tests new equipment and processes in its Spanish plants before instituting them in the Ukraine.
Garrido pointed out a new CNC machine. "We are thinking of installing the same CNC router in the Ukraine plant," he said. "It's more complicated machinery, and we need to determine our production needs."
Case goods manufacturer Móbil Fresno makes parts and sources components from a network of 240 supplier companies for assembly and finishing at its 130,000-square-foot plant about two hours from Valencia in the furniture manufacturing center of Yecla.
Móbil Fresno has two full case goods lines, its namesake 13-collection line of classical and Art Deco furniture, and Interi, a six-collection designer-oriented contemporary line. It also makes Ambara, an occasional program that includes around 100 pieces in relaxed, casual finishes on cherry and oak. The company's production model allows it to concentrate on one of its specialties, a large variety of finishes that range from matte to high-gloss.
The company has invested heavily in recent years, both in machinery and processes.
"Last year, we updated all our machinery for parts production," said José Manuel Francés, export department manager. "Three months ago, we received ISO 9001 quality certification."
About half of Móbil Fresno's residential output is for export. Markets include the United States, Australia, England, France, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Korea and Japan. The company exhibits the Móbil Fresno line at High Point through its U.S. distributor, Planum, and offers five collections developed by the U.S. design group Berry & Clark.
"We'd like to sell more Interi in the United States as well," Francés said. "I think we could do a lot more."
