China plans big parts complex
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, June 23, 2008
SHUNDE CITY, China — What could end up being the High Point of furniture supplier shows is going up fast in this manufacturing hub of southern China.
Construction of the Asia International Furniture Material Trading Center — Asia Star for short — started in 2004. It is now home to more than 700 companies occupying some 6.8 million square feet of space.
The $290 million project is about 60% complete and is expected to reach some 12 million square feet when it's done in 2010, which is about the size of all the High Point Market showrooms.
When completed, Asia Star will house 1,500 materials suppliers and 200 logistics firms offering their services to the industry, according to its developer. It also will have six administrative buildings, a hotel, an apartment building and an exhibition building for a twice-a-year materials trade show.
The developer is Hechuangying Real Estate Co., which says it wants to build the facility as a “one-stop materials trading platform” aimed at better serving an estimated 3,000 furniture manufacturers and suppliers in China. Shunde City is about an hour southwest of Dongguan, a furniture manufacturing hotbed.
“The original purpose to set up this trading center is to get a huge a number of manufacturers and material (suppliers) together and build up an interactive trade platform for the buyer and supplier, so that the material industry could serve the furniture industry,” the developers said in response to questions posed by Furniture/Today.
The facility is expected to draw some 10 million visitors a year, including those who attend the suppliers shows in March and September. The exposition area, which ultimately will cover 2 million square feet, will be called the Asia International Furniture Material Expo.
The next show is scheduled for Sept. 7-10.
Officials expect most of the visitors will be from China, but expect some international buyers, too — largely be from furniture manufacturers looking to secure the best deals on hardware, finishing materials, fabrics and anything else used in furniture production.
The Asia Star complex, when completed, will include:
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2 million square feet for furniture hardware and textiles.
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1.5 million square feet for logistics companies and related distribution space.
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1 million square feet for leather and other auxiliary materials.
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About 2 million square feet devoted to the exhibition center and an accompanying business center.
Spaces at the facility are available for lease or sale to companies that want to occupy year-round, permanent space. The complex and expo have a Web site, although much of it is in Chinese, at www.aifm.com.cn.
