An employee of the Artisan company works on a wooden furniture production line on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
The sound of chainsaws echoes in the snow-capped Bosnian forest. The wood will soon be transformed into high-end chairs or chests of drawers that will adorn Belgian, French or South Korean living rooms.
A rare example of economic success in the impoverished and dysfunctional Balkan country, the furniture industry has been on a roll for a decade, spurred lately by disruptions in Chinese furniture supplies following the Covid-19 pandemic. 19.
Employees of the Artisan company work on a wooden furniture production line on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
In Tesanj, in northern Bosnia, the Artisan company is part of this success.
The number of its employees has increased since 2020 from 200 to 300, welcomes Armin Huremovic, sales manager.
Founded in 2007, the company made a name for itself abroad five years later, at an international fair in Cologne, Germany, one of the most important in Europe.
“It took us a long time to gain trust because we come from Bosnia,” Armin Huremovic told AFP.
The country divided along ethnic lines still often evokes the “scenes of war” of the intercommunal conflict that ended three decades ago, he regrets.
Employees of the Artisan company work on a production line for wooden chairs on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
But the bet was won. Their solid wood furniture, some designed by big names in design such as the Canadian-American artist Karim Rashid or the studio of the German Michael Schneider, is exported to more than 65 countries.
Some chairs sell for more than 800 euros, some tables cost up to 9,000 euros: almost all of the production is exported, beyond the reach of buyers from Bosnia where the average salary is 570 euros.
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The company’s customers, whose turnover is approximately 15 million euros, are located in Western Europe, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, but also in South Korea.
Employees of the Artisan company work on a production line for wooden chairs on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
Bosnia does not weigh heavily on the European furniture market, estimated in 2020 at around 96 billion euros, but wood is one of the pillars of the local economy.
According to Ognjenka Lalovic, an official of the Bosnian Chamber of Foreign Trade (VTKBIH), the timber industry — 1,400 companies and nearly 30,000 jobs — “represents between 10% and 15% of total exports” from Bosnia.
Exports are rising almost constantly (870 million euros in 2021) even if they could slow down a little this year due to the repercussions of the war in Ukraine on the world economy, according to experts.
The sector owes its success to “quality raw materials, experienced labor and tradition”, summarizes Ms. Lalovic. “We are one of the few countries in Europe where 60% of the surface is covered with forests”.
Employees of the Artisan company work on a wooden furniture production line on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
Located in the Dinaric Alps, Bosnia includes many mountains often wooded. It is also home to one of the last primary forests on the continent, Perucica, in the southeast.
For Eldin Sabeta, head of sales at Standard Furniture Factory, one of the largest Bosnian furniture exporters near Sarajevo (500 employees and 30 million euros in annual turnover), “good value for money” explains also the breakthrough of Bosnian products.
Like many other local manufacturers, the company specializing in solid wood dining room furniture has benefited from the upheavals caused by the coronavirus.
Employees of the Artisan company work on a wooden furniture production line on February 7, 2023 in Tesanj, northern Bosnia (AFP/ELVIS BARUKCIC)
Faced with the difficulties of importing from China and Asia, European customers have turned to manufacturers in South-East Europe.
“We have seen a clear increase for two years,” says Eldin Sabeta. “Every month, a new customer knocks on our door.”
Every day, three to five trucks leave the factory for Western Europe to supply large groups, especially Germans and Austrians.
They “need reliable suppliers”, he adds.
© 2023 AFP
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