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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Quality furniture from a rich resource Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long tradition of furniture production Bosnia and Herzegovina has a centuries-long tradition of using wood in furniture production while modern and highly professional management of rich national forest resources dates back to the second half of the 19th century. Forests cover about 104,000 sq miles (more than twice the size of England) or over 50% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing one of the most important resources of present and future economic development. The forests have the potential to sustainably provide millions of cubic metres of timber every year and are globally renowned for their extraordinary beauty and timber quality. Furniture production is one of the most important and most developed industry sectors with good potential for growth and is one of the country’s premier export products. Special awards to four Bosnia and Herzegovina products at IMM 2011 Cologne are evidence of the quality. The Bosnia and Herzegovina forest-based sector comprises of forestry, primary wood processing and value-added
Helping hand for companies Nenad Zarubica represents the companies involved in this project in the UK through his company Woodline Marketing. He acts as an agent but also runs the new Bosnian furniture showroom that occupies the first floor of Signs Furniture’s Romford, Essex store. Born and educated in Bosnia, Zarubica has lived in the UK since 1992. His career in the furniture industry began in 1987 as export manager for one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the former Yugoslavia, and he has represented Bosnian furniture manufacturers in the UK for 15 years. His work here includes both acting as an agent for Bosnian Supported by
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Interiors Monthly December 2011
production that includes furniture, construction joinery, flooring and wall panels. This sector employs about 20,000 people. Given that it is export-oriented and depends little on imports, the timber industry has a significant place in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s gross domestic product, employment and foreign trade. The sector accounts for about 10% of the country’s GDP, while more than 60% of wood sector production is exported, mostly to European Union countries. Timber industry production is based on high quality timber from beech and oak forests, precious fruit-trees and coniferous forests producing soft wood species of fir, spruce and pine. The abundance of high-quality forests, geographic position, competitive workforce costs and raw materials, combined with a tradition of manual and modern technology production, make this sector attractive for investment.
The showroom occupies the first floor of the Romford, Essex store
furniture manufacturers and also importing furniture from Bosnia along with helping the factories to develop models and ranges suitable for the UK market in terms of design, finish, packaging and other aspects to help them to meet the requirements of the UK market.
WOODLINE MARKETING
• Email: woodlinemarketing@gmail.com • Tel: 01708 677 227