"Made in Bali" becoming well-known overseas
"Made in Bali" becoming well-known overseas
Rita A. Widiadana
The Jakarta Post,
Kuta, Bali
Twenty years ago, no one in Bali would dare to have suggested
that its furniture products would stand gorgeously in many homes,
luxury hotels and opulent holiday resorts around the world.
Just visit a five star hotel in Asia, Europe or America, you
may quite possibly find pieces of wooden or rattan furniture made
in Bali. Many people in overseas countries are using such wooden,
rattan and bamboo furniture just to create a Balinese (or Asian)
style and flair in their homes.
The rapidly increasing demand for such furniture has made Bali
one of the major furniture centers in Indonesia.
Panudiana Kun, chairperson of the Bali Chapter of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, explained that teak, wooden and
rattan furniture has long been produced in a number of cities in
Java like Jepara and Yogyakarta.
"But, Bali is the place where people around the globe meet and
where business flourishes," Panudiana said.
Since the late l980s, a large number of furniture companies
moved their factories to Bali, thus establishing the island as
Indonesia's most important furniture center. Some are small to
medium-scale local companies, some joint-ventures and some even
belong to foreigners.
Since the early l990s, vast collections of outdoor and indoor
furniture have been shipped to various countries generating
billions of U.S dollars in revenue.
Amos Lilo from Pelangi Furniture based in the Sanur and Kuta
areas said that the ongoing crisis affecting Indonesia had not
significantly affected the furniture industry in Bali.
"This is because Bali is still stable economically, socially
and politically," Amos said. Most of the furniture manufacturers
here have already secured markets and ongoing orders from their
customers.
Pelangi Furniture, he said, produces garden furniture, benches
and dining seats made mostly of teak.
"The demand for Indonesian teak furniture, especially garden
furniture, has been steady in overseas market," explained Amos.
What the Balinese furniture industry must maintain is their
marketing networks in overseas countries, as well as keeping up
with international design trends.
His company and several others categorized as small and medium
scale home industries still require additional financial and
technical assistance.
Currently, a British non-governmental organization, Fair
Trade, is helping small and medium furniture producers with
technical and design improvements.
"Many of us are still applying conventional technology and
traditional designs in producing furniture," Amos said. His
company frequently received big orders from foreign buyers but
could not meet the demand because of lack of human resources and
technology.
"One of the significant problems in the furniture industry is
the shortage of skilled workers," he said. Most of the workers
come from Java and some from Bali and they are working in a vast
number of furniture factories here.
"Buyers will only care about receiving their orders on time,
while on the other hand we have inadequate human resources to
undertake such mass production," Amos said. To meet the
increasing demand and to serve customers better, many furniture
companies in Bali have set up close networks with companies
operating in Greek, Blotter, and Surabaya in East Java, and
Yogyakarta, Semarang and Jepara in Central Java.
"If we fail to meet the demand, we will no longer be able to
compete on the international market," Amos pointed out.
Gerald Paulus Korompis, director of operations for PT Tuahta
Romada, agreed, saying that although Indonesia was still a leader
in the wood furniture industry, some Asian and Latin American
countries were rapidly increasing their shares of the world
market.
"Thailand and India are our potential competitors," explained
Gerald.
These two countries also produce teak and rattan furniture and
are now flooding the market with a variety of quality products,
he added.
"The world market is not saturated yet but Indonesian
producers should be on the alert," he said. Among the major
markets for teak and rattan furniture from Bali and other parts
of Indonesia are the United States, Europe, Japan, and now South
Africa.
"Australia is also a flourishing market for furniture but its
government imposes a number of restrictions that hamper
Indonesian products in entering the country," added Gerald
without specifying what sort of restrictions.
The most important thing for local furniture producers is to
identify the tastes and characteristics of customers in each
targeted country.
The American and European markets usually prefer quality,
simple yet classically styled wooden furniture. Japanese
customers go for simplicity and clean design.
"In a time of crisis, we have to be more aggressive in finding
and expanding new markets, and we are now eying Asian countries
like China, Hong Kong and Korea," explained Gerald.
Some design modification would be needed to meet the tastes of
Asian customers. Citing an example, for dining sets most European
and Americans like square-shaped, sturdy tables, while Asians
prefer round or oval-shaped tables combined with carved wooden
chairs, he said.
Despite having a promising future, the Balinese and Indonesian
furniture industry in general is facing major problems.
Procurement of raw materials is an ongoing problem. The
majority of furniture products from Indonesia are made of forest
products like teak, rattan and bamboo. Indonesia has been called
on to stop cutting its forests so as to keep the world's
environment in balance and avoid ecological disasters.
The imposition of eco-labeling by Western countries has forced
the local furniture industry to consider reviewing its policy and
use more-environmentally friendly materials and technology.
Budiman Sutrisno, director of the Bali Export Trade Center in
Kuta, said that some Balinese furniture producers were
experimenting with materials other than teak and rattan.
Some producers have tried to innovate by using banana stems
and fibers, coconut wood and even eceng gondok (Eichchornia
crassipes) fibers.
"But, they are still very small in quantity and are generally
hand-made products," Budiman explained. Processing such kinds of
materials needs advanced technology and skilled artisans, which
many of local producers lack.
"We should not be discouraged because the market for such
products has already been opened," Budiman added, however.
It is urgent for the Balinese and Indonesian furniture
industry to tap these opportunity of promoting diversified
furniture products other than traditional teak and rattan on the
international market. If successful, the industry will gain more
customers and will, of course, generate more dollars, while at
the same time also saving Indonesian forests and guaranteeing
sustainable development.