Eco-Friendly, Design-Oriented Products Highlighted at 2008 TiFS

The 2008 Taipei Int'l Furniture Show (TiFS 2008) attracted a record turnout during its Feb. 28 to March 2 run at the Taipei World Trade Center. A total of 299 domestic and international exhibitors (1,101 booths) displayed their products and services at the show, up 32% from the previous year.

Organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers' Association (TFMA) with sponsorship from the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the show featured several theme pavilions. Among them were displays highlighting LOHAS (Life of Health and Sustainability) Green Furniture, Green Building Materials, and Fashion/Designers Furniture. There were also theme areas dedicated to OA Furniture, Indoor Furniture, Outdoor Furniture, Glass Furniture, Lighting, Foreign Exhibits, Furniture Parts and Accessories, and Domestic Designers' Masterpieces.

Most of the exhibitors at the show touted their "green" credentials with displays of earth-friendly products. The furniture on display also highlighted Asian-influenced Taiwanese design.

Innovative furniture made with new and environmentally sound materials and processes were gathered at the LOHAS area. A total of 15 leading manufacturers, most of them Taiwan Green Mark certified, showcased unique furniture and home decorations at the LOHAS display. High-quality natural, synthetic, recyclable and healthy materials featured prominently.

Also at the venue was a display of "Environmentally-Friendly Homes" that combine energy-saving lighting, environmentally-friendly furnishings, environmentally-friendly building materials and healthy home supplies. The "Oriental Design with a Taiwanese Attitude Zone" consisted of "Taiwan Thematic Creativity" and "Taiwan Home Furnishings" sections.

A glass team led by Taiwan Mirror Glass Enterprise Ltd., Taiwan's most dynamic glass furniture maker, occupied over 40 booths in eight sections of the show, including the Information on Manufacturers, Visitor Procurement Talks, Living Room Furniture, Construction Interiors, Life with Glass, Handicrafts, Kitchenware, and Bathroom Applications areas. These areas featured more than 1,600 glass items from 56 exhibiting manufacturers.

Safe for the Planet and Consumers

Quality products focusing on design, environmental protection and safety formed the core of TiFS 2008, giving discerning international buyers a one-stop venue for high quality, low cost furniture.

A total of 98 buyers from 22 countries attended the show, including buyers from the US, the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Columbia. Leon's Furniture in Canada, Cecile-the Japanese catalog retailer, the U.S.-based Acme Furniture, Nakumatt Holdings Ltd.-the largest wholesaler in Kenya, Al Safeer Furniture LLC in the United Arab Emirates, and a 16-member procurement delegation from Korea were among the attendees.

From the show displays, it was also apparent that growing numbers of Taiwanese furniture makers are embracing green products. Ho Yuan Industrial, a traditional wood and rattan-woven furniture maker, attracted strong interest at TiFS 2008 with its natural-style rattan woven items. "The company has been involved in the development of rattan woven products for more than eight years, but we only began officially marketing them four years ago," noted Jenny Young, sales manager of the company. "Our products are mainly made of sandalwood and woven rattan materials. To help protect the earth and reuse waste, some of our materials are flotsam and deadwood that have to undergo special treatment before being processed into furniture items."

Established in 1991, Ho Yuan has manufacturing plants in Taiwan and China, the former located in Tainan, southern Taiwan and the latter in Zhejiang Province. "We fuse traditional Chinese handicraft methods and modern manufacturing technologies to create classic Oriental-style furniture, mainly beds, chairs, occasional tables, and dining room sets," Young said. "We also provide furniture maintenance services to encourage customers to use our products for a long time."

To help reduce waste, Ho Yuan suggests that consumers purchase durable furniture that does not need to be changed so frequently. Based on this concept, the company has tried to use the best material to make most sustainable and health-oriented furniture for its clients. "We make our furniture from solid wood, like sandalwood, ebony, rosewood, and cypress and use natural lacquer or non-toxic lacquer imported from Germany for surface polishing," Young explained.

Ho Yuan's products are mainly in Taiwan, China and Japan. "We obtained the first patent for our beds in Taiwan in 2003, and later on we secured patents for the woven structure and technology of our beds in both China and Japan," Young said. "Our sales have grown steadily in recent years, and we intend to explore the markets in Southeast Asia in the near future."

Thinking Out of the Box

Ta Yen Paper Box Container Co. was another eco-aware exhibitor at TiFS 2008. With a history of more than three decades, the company has in recent years been actively engaged in the manufacturer of eco-friendly paper furniture.

With the help of advanced manufacturing technology, the company turns waste paper and fiber into modern stylish furniture. "The raw materials have to undergo special process before becoming fiber board pallets, which can be assemble into different kinds of furniture items," said Kuo Hsin-chih, general manager of the company. "We have sold our pallets to manufacturing companies both at home and abroad. About two or three years ago we started to get involved in furniture making and found that paper pallets are good for this purpose."

"Our paper pallets can be painted in different colors and they are easy to assemble into different sizes of cubic-shape boxes that can be combined into different kinds of storage cabinets, closets, tables, chairs or even beds," Kuo elaborated. "Our pallets can bear weighs of between 100 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms, depending on furniture items."

All furniture products made by Ta Yen have met the EU's SGS test to assure they are non-toxic and formaldehyde-free. The products are also natural, environmentally friendly, and health-oriented, not to mention a boon for DIYers.

Shaken Into Action

Founded over two decades ago, Mosia Flooring Corp. is a well-known flooring provider and planner in Taiwan. The company added bamboo flooring to its line in 1999 after a massive earthquake struck Taiwan.

"On Sept. 21, 1999 a 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook central Taiwan and devastated the area, particularly the townships of Nanto and Puli," says Cheng Kuo-shu, sales manager of the company. "The government urged the private sector to help earthquake victims get back on their feet by supporting business creation in the quake-afflicted areas. Quite a lot of townships in central Taiwan grow bamboo, so Mosia decided to use bamboo as major raw material in its flooring."

In the nearly 10 years since then, Mosia has quickly scaled up its bamboo flooring line, gaining a "Green" mark along the way. "Our bamboo flooring is non-toxic and free from formaldehyde," Cheng noted. "Moreover, bamboo grows very fast and can replace wood as a furniture material, which means less logging and reduced emission of carbon dioxide."

In recent years, people in Taiwan and around the world have increasingly accepted bamboo flooring and Mosia has reaped gains from this trend in swelling orders. The company believes that products made of eco-friendly and natural materials will become mainstream in the global market in the foreseeable future.

Handicraft Furniture

With a history of more than two decades, Kennie & Julie's Collection Ltd. (K & J) makes high-end handicraft wooden furniture. It exported all of its products until this year, when it started to explore the market in Taiwan.

"We opened a sales outlet in Taiwan early this year to market our products to local customers," noted Kennie Chou, president of the company. "Our high-end wooden furniture products are made mostly of mahogany and are exported mainly to Europe."

K & J ships its products throughout the EU from a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. "We purchase most of our raw materials from Indonesia, which has extensive forest resources, including mahogany. However, mahogany logging is now controlled there by a permit system. To protect these precious trees, we may use other hardwood materials for our products," Chou said. "Today we make furniture at our factories in Australia, Southeast Asian nations and Taiwan."

"People in Japan, Taiwan and some other countries in Asia prefer wooden furniture with simple patterns, while consumers in Europe and the United States like furniture with complicated classic styles," Chou explained. "Nowadays hardwood is getting harder to source and prices are rising as a result. Nevertheless, Americans and Europeans still like traditional natural hardwood furniture. So, we believe that the market for such products remains promising."

Kindergarten Furniture

King Yuen Cheng Co., Ltd. (KYC) has survived long survived in Taiwan's furniture business through an emphasis on R&D. "The company was established in 1984, but as far back as 1945, my grandfather was already involved in the manufacturer of children's furniture," reminisced Tommy Wei, sales manager of the company and also the company's third generation successor.

"KYC was set up by my father in 1984 because he wanted to produce kindergarten furniture," Wei recalls. "My father got the idea of producing kindergarten furniture one day twenty years ago when he came to pick me up from kindergarten and saw the chairs and tables for kids there were quite awkward and clumsy. He thought this might be detrimental to the kids' physical development. From then on, he determined to commit himself into the manufacture of suitable, comfortable, ergonomic, and beautiful furniture for kindergarten kids."

The company enjoyed a booming business in the beginning years, but later on business slowed as more competitors joined the line. "Actually the market for children's furniture in Taiwan is relatively small, and the intense competition has forced some manufacturers out. Today there only five manufacturers in the line, and KYC is one of them," Wei said.

KYC has a plant in Taiwan. Most of its products are made of beech wood. Today the company ships 40% of its output to overseas market, mainly Japan; and sells the remaining 60% domestically. The company has enjoyed pretty fairly sales at home, where one of its major clients is the Montessori Kindergarten chain.

"Our products have reached world standard and passed such international safety test as JIS and SGS. We ship only one container per month to overseas markets, mostly Japan. We hope to further explore external markets, particularly in Europe," Wei said. "Attending 2008 TiFS is one of the channels through which we can contact international buyers. We will continue to participate in more international furniture shows to increase our market exposure."