– From the perspective of the last 4 months, we can see stabilization of employment in the furniture industry. The employment reduction process, which had been going on for almost two years, has slowed down. Moreover, unit productivity increased in relation to the value of furniture sold. If we look at it from a longer perspective, we can see that one employee is able to produce twice as much, which is due to, among others, automation of production processes – says Tomasz Wiktorski, an expert from B+R Studio.
At the beginning of this year, Bogdan and Elżbieta Kaczmark and Innova Capital took over 100% of shares in Pfleiderer Polska, which has been operating under the name Woodeco since July 1. The new owners have been involved in the furniture industry for years. Bogdan and Elżbieta Kaczmarek own the companies Com.40 and Correct, producers of upholstered furniture and mattresses, whose customers include, among others: IKEA.
– I think this is good news for the furniture market because competition is increasing. The new owner has more reasons to fight for the market and invest. It needs success, which it will achieve by introducing only innovative products or competitive prices, or both – emphasizes Tomasz Wiktorski.
The investment by the Kaczmareks and Innova Capital led to the formal separation of Pfleiderer's board production activities in Poland and Germany.
– As new financial investors in the company, we intend to develop cutting-edge technologies and expand its production capabilities. We will also focus on improving the efficiency and implementation of projects related to the green transformation, announced Bogdan Kaczmarek a few months ago.
Investment worth PLN 60 million
In May this year, while still operating as Pfleiderer, the company opened a new recycling tower at the factory in Wieruszów.
– We have invested over PLN 60 million to protect the environment, but also to ensure that our trading partners have access to the highest quality products, products that meet the increasing needs of ecologically conscious consumers – comments Grzegorz Kulesza, managing director of Woodeco.
In the recycling process, the tower processes consumer waste – generated during the production of furniture, floors, doors and interior design elements. The solution will reduce board production costs and increase efficiency.
– Our investment in using waste wood to produce wood-based boards will avoid the need to use wood coming directly from forests. We will be able to process approximately 80-90 thousand tons of waste that ends up in landfills today into a full-value product, says Grzegorz Kulesza.
Problem with certified wood
In recent years, the industry has had difficult access to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood, which was a gateway to international markets. Further restrictions on the acquisition of raw materials are also announced. Due to problems with logging, leading companies are increasingly investing in technologies using recycling.
– If we want to maintain a certain production volume, we have to source the raw material from somewhere. If logging in Poland will be limited, recycling is an alternative must-have. This is something that record producers need, i.e. an increase in the share of recycling in production – confirms Tomasz Wiktorski.
According to Woodeco representatives, with the growing demand for wood and its decreasing availability, the investment is to provide the company with a competitive advantage on the market. Tomasz Wiktorski thinks similarly: Currently, there is an ecological race among record producers. Wood is expensive, so whoever has a greater share of recycling will win.
As part of the new investment, Woodeco intends to increase the use of recovered wood from the current 30% to 50%, which will result in a reduction in fuel consumption, including natural gas.
– We want to burn biomass completely in the future by investing in a new biomass boiler – sums up Mariusz Janik, responsible for ecology at Woodeco.
Rebranding
– We are changing, and change means development and challenges. The new owner means new investments, which gives us a chance to develop. So we see great potential in this change, which we can now use. And we will use it – says Grzegorz Kulesza about the rebranding.
The new name – Woodeco brings with it improved product quality and new investments, also in ecology and the circular economy. Introducing new products and improving price competitiveness.
Pfleiderer divided the rebranding process into two stages. The first one involves changing the brand name to Woodeco. The name of the distribution network will also change to Woodeco Partner. In the second stage, the changes will affect product displays at sales points. – We plan to implement changes related to external communication in production plants in Wieruszów and Grajewo by mid-August, and rebranding of the entire network by the end of 2024 – says Łukasz Spólny, Trade Marketing Manager at Woodeco.
Woodeco info kiosks
At the same time as the rebranding, the brand also plans to introduce an innovative design of info kiosks, which will become the central part of the product exhibition. – Info kiosks will be used to present the "Mood Stories" collection in a digital and interactive way. This is a kind of novelty on the market. Info kiosks have been gradually implemented in sales points since April this year, where projects combined with demonstration kitchens are being implemented – explains Łukasz Spólny.
