Swedish Wood recently signed an MoU with FFSC (Furniture and Fittings Skill Council). This MoU was signed keeping in mind the shortage of skilled manpower in the Indian wood, furniture and fittings sector and to facilitate creation and exchange of knowledge between the signing parties for skill development. The Deputy Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India – Mr. Magnus Andersson and Ms. Charlotte Dedye Apelgren, Director Interior & Design at Swedish Wood, were present during the signing of MoU. The MoU was signed during India Wood 2018, Bangalore.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Magnus Andersson said, “The MoU reflects the strong relations between the signing parties. Herein after the relationship it will only grow stronger and each party will stay committed to deliver the best to the India Market. With this MoU, we can look at skilled manpower and better knowledge exchange for our India markets.”
“India is a rather new market for Swedish sawn timber, but the Swedish sawmill industry experiences an increased interest for sawn timber from Sweden for the Indian wood processing industry,” says Charlotte Dedye Apelgren, Director Interior & Design at Swedish Wood. Further adding she said, “We also see an increased demand in the world for natural and renewable materials like Swedish timber. All Swedish timber comes from sustainably managed forests, where every harvested tree is replaced by several new planted seedlings. This MoU with the FFSC will help us better serve the Indian markets and supply the finest quality of wood.
The Swedish sawmill industry, gathered under the name Swedish Wood, is participating at India Wood fair in Bangalore, and the conference Timber Forum organized by the fair. At the event, Swedish Wood highlighted the benefits of Swedish timber and its application in modern design and architecture, including the benefits of using Swedish wood as an innovative material to support the Indian wood processing industry.
In India, the Swedish sawmill industry sees a potential to support the Indian furniture and joinery industry with high quality Swedish pine.
The total Swedish production of sawn and planed timber is 18 million cubic meters, where of 13 million cubic meters are exported, making Sweden the third largest exporter in the world, by volume, of sawn and planed timber. Sweden exports sawn timber mainly to Europe, North Africa & the Middle East and Asia.
Nine Swedish sawmill companies such as Holmen Timber, Martinsons, Moelven, Norra Timber, Norrskog Wood Products, SCA Timber, Setra Group, SiljanTimber and Södra participated in show.