MARKET

The Journey Of Muar Furniture Industry And Organizing Exhibitions

Lead The Local Industry Towards The International Market

After the successful inaugural exhibition in 1987, the Muar Furniture Association (MFA) took the lead in organizing subsequent exhibitions during the 1990s. Initially focused on domestic buyers, these exhibitions later expanded to cater to international furniture exports, marking MFA’s efforts to lead the local industry towards the international market and attract international buyers, earning praise and attention.

In 1999, for certain reasons, MFA collaborated with Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) to co-organize the Malaysian Furniture Exports Exhibition (MAFEX). This decision led to disapproval from the Malaysian Furniture Industry Council (MFIC) and relevant government agencies, as they believed MFIC should represent the industry exclusively. As a result, 13 state furniture associations came together to form the Malaysian Furniture Entrepreneur Association (MFEA).

Over the next few years, MAFEX successfully attracted buyers from around the world, establishing itself as a gathering point for the Malaysian furniture industry. However, disagreements emerged between MFA and MIECC over the ownership of the MAFEX exhibition in 2004, with MIECC asserting that it was independently owned, while MFA claimed it was a joint ownership. Concerned about potential future disputes, MFA decided to pull itself from MAFEX and found a new venue at the Asia Pacific Auction Centre (APAC) in Subang, where they hosted the Export Furniture Exhibition (EFE) in 2005. However, just before the EFE event in 2005, MIECC applied for a court injunction to halt the exhibition. Fortunately, the court ruled in favor of MFA, and EFE proceeded as planned.