A member of the fair’s organising committee in the last two editions, and Vice-President in the last one, Francisco Perelló is now the new President of Maderalia, the International Fair for Suppliers to the Furniture and Woodworking Industry. Perelló is chief executive of Valresa, a company dedicated to the manufacturing of varnishes. Perelló is the first President in the new era of Maderalia in the new Feria Valencia pavilions.
How will Maderalia 2005 continue the recent upward growth?
Maderalia’s potential for growth lies in the auxiliary industry and subcontracting. The fair must help our customers to gain in competitiveness. In spite of the lower costs of raw materials and salaries in other countries, an efficient, quick and flexible auxiliary industry can help furniture and joinery manufacturers to reduce costs and improve production.
Maderalia’s goal is not growth as such, rather it is all about improving. With this concept in mind, the new organising committee intends to listen carefully to all manufacturers in order to fine-tune the fair and thus help them strengthen their levels of competitiveness.
In what direction should Maderalia reinforce its international policy?
Spanish suppliers of products, processes and services for the furniture industry are not sufficiently well known in the whole of Europe, and I’m not just talking about the new EU members, but also the more advanced markets like the UK. Spain has companies dedicated to the production of raw materials, semi-manufactured goods, fittings and locks, varnishes, etc., as well as subcontractors of mechanical or finished products ready to compete in European markets such as France, Germany or Italy. Spanish labour costs are still lower than most EU countries. Collaboration among all European countries would make our continent a strong competitor of China and other Asian countries which are currently threatening our markets.
How will the new Maderalia adapt to the ongoing growth in the sector of joinery products?
As a building component, wood still has a long way to go. Joinery is no longer just another ingredient of Maderalia and is now a core product with doors, windows, floors, stairs, coverings, etc. It is a sector in a continuous process of innovation and growth here in Spain, and this will be readily seen at the coming edition of Maderalia. It is already attracting the interest of many builders, architects and interior designers who look at the fair as a place to select the products they need for their projects.
What role will the fairs play in the future of the wood and furniture industry?
I believe that major existing fairs will be even further consolidated, and that the new projects focusing on specific professional and geographical areas will find it increasingly difficult to find the loyalty of a sector forced to choose due to restraints of time and money. On the other hand, visitors are not particularly keen on going to every single event on the trade fair calendar.
Therefore, I would say that large fairs are bound to become larger, and small fairs, smaller.
From the viewpoint of Maderalia, our duty is to listen and adapt to the demands of our customers –both exhibitors and trade visitors- and to ensure that the fair remains dynamic and useful during the months when it is not open. The joint product offer of FIMMA and Maderalia more than justifies the time invested in visiting them.
What is the profile of the new Maderalia organising committee?
A good organising committee must reflect the diversity of the sector, with all its products and productive areas.
What I am particularly concerned with, is to make sure that all the subsectors of the wood and furniture industries all properly represented. We want to make a larger and better fair, and to achieve that, we are asking managers of leading companies in their sectors to collaborate in this project which wants to serve the interests of exhibitors and visitors, suppliers and customers.
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