CATAS: A GREAT 2021. WORKING ON THE 2022!
- 2022-02-08
“The 2021 was a complicated, sometimes difficult year, which has tested our limits, there’s no doubt. A challenge that I must say Catas has passed, achieving important results on all issues on which it is committed”. Lucia Cristina Piu – President of Catas, the leading European laboratory for the wood-furniture sector – has no hesitation in commenting on the results achieved in the year just ended. A year of strengthening that confirms the renewed energy of the sector, rewarded by greater attention to the living environments, as well as to the issues of technical standardization, safety and certification. The 2021 year closes with a turnover that once again exceeds the threshold of 7 million euros, thanks to a growth of 6 percent in "subscribers" (Italian and foreign companies that have a regular collaboration with the laboratory), which have gone from 1,272 in 2020 to 1,345 last year. A figure confirmed by the growth in the tests carried out (52,218 in 2021 against 49,662 in 2020) and by the increase in the product certifications numbers (177 in 2021, 164 in 2020), with a strong relevance in particular for the "Made in Italy" certification. “A growth to which the opening of the Catas Point Pesaro has significantly contributed, the first in a series of contact points that will allow us to be increasingly present and proactive in the main furniture districts areas, thanks to which we have started collaborations with some of the most well-known brands of the national retail sector. A new scenario that has enabled Catas to communicate the value of its activities to the final consumers, the real end-users of our certifications”, Piu continued. The 2021 year has involved investments of more than 500 thousand euros in the expansion of the equipment both at the Catas Lissone site in Brianza (for test on furniture products) and in San Giovanni al Natisone in Friuli Venezia Giulia (for the chemical analysis). Concerning the training activities, Catas Academy has organized more than 30 events, in addition to many internship experiences with students from universities and high schools. A year that also saw the publication of the first “Edging Handbook”, edited in collaboration with Federchimica-Avisa, which makes a clear point in one of the fundamental steps in the furniture production process. Another significant news has been the launch of “The Life Cycle measured by CATAS”assessment service by which the laboratory offers an objective contribution to the issue of sustainability, providing companies in the sector with a rigorous tool for the measure of the environmental, social and energy “weight” of the products. These results will measure and represent the real effort of companies for a truly sustainable industry and economy. “Now we look to the future”, President Piu continued. “In 2022, health emergency permitting, the presence in Italy will be increased thanks to the roots in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in Brianza and in the large Pesaro furniture district”. “The organizational response to the growing needs from the clients will be a further important development step, with the enlargement of the Catas site in San Giovanni al Natisone – Piu concluded – where we will build a new three-storey building, covering an area of approximately 2,500 square meters, dedicated to laboratories for the fire reaction tests and mechanical tests on materials, components and adhesives for the furniture sector”. New plans are also being defined for the training services for technical schools and universities. In addition, a wide schedule of webinars will be held in the coming months with the collaboration of Federchimica and Acimall (the Italian Association of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers) Since several years, Catas has also been designing, manufacturing and supplying test equipment for components, chairs, tables, beds and furniture, including turnkey. The offer is the result of the knowledge and experience gained over many years of activity and already represents a qualifying voice in the activity of the institution, on which in the future we will focus even more. In the light of this direction too, the new Catas Engineering catalog was developed containing this kind of offers.
Michael Chang 's six-year term expired and handed over a beautiful transcript
- 2022-01-17
Michael Chang served as the second terns chairman of the Taiwan Woodworking Machinery Industry Association TWMA. At the end of his term, in addition to expressing his support and trust for the advanced members and supervisors, he also hopes to continue to promote the reform of the association under the leadership of the new chairman in the future. and enhance the well-being of members. Looking back on the past six years, Michael Chang has handed over beautiful transcripts: including Through the exhibition and delegation visits, we expanded the interaction and communications with international associations and organizations, such as VDMA (Germany), ACIMALL (Italy), JWMA(Japan), LJWMCC(China), QDWMA(China), Nankang Furniture Association(China), HAWA (Vietnam), BIFA (Vietnam), and the TFMAVN (Vietnam). We also established the "Taiwan Woodworking Machinery Technology Center" at the HCMUTE (Vietnam) to enhance the visibility of Taiwan woodworking machinery in the international arena. We participate in the program with Ministry of Economic Affairs, TAITRA, Taichung City Government, and PMC so that the members can share government resources. We become a member of the Smart Machinery (Smart Manufacturing) promotion Associations and speak for the industry through relevant channels. We establish a virtual exhibition hall for woodworking machinery and lead Taiwan's woodworking machinery towards digitalization of marketing. We have also established links with the University of Technology and the Industrial Senior High School to nurture local young students to continue the development of woodworking machinery. With the approval of the general meeting, the office will be relocated to Taichung City Center, near the Taichung City Government, which creates good opportunities for interaction with the industry, government, and academia, to enhance the Association's external image. In terms of the overall global woodworking machinery industry, China's export ranking jumped to the world's first, followed by Germany, Italy, and Taiwan. There is still a lot of room for growth in Taiwan's woodworking machinery exports. European manufacturers are still in a leading position in the market due to the uniqueness and high quality of their products, but if Taiwan manufacturers want to improve their overall competitiveness, they should focus on the overall technological improvement and reduce the technological gap as the main goal. We will continue to expand the use of digital marketing strategies through online exhibitions and online seminars, and provide remote services through Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Michael hope that Taiwan woodworking machinery will move toward intelligent machinery and digital transformation to produce more environmentally friendly and energy-saving machinery and create prosperity. By NewsWin
OAV: Constantly innovating and researching to maintain the leading position in the market
- 2022-01-06
I am very happy to interview Dennis Liu, general manager of OAV equipment and Tools Inc, following is the summary of the interview:
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Ｑ1: I see you offer band saws, sliding table saws (panel saws), dust collectors ,what are your most popular machine categories?
Ans: Over the years our production has evolved to include more machinery for production use including automatic edgebanders and sliding table saws. We work closely with our distribution network to determine which machines are required by the end user and we develop machines to fit these needs. We are constantly evolving our products and our R&D team work closely with our sales department to ensure we are manufacturing the right machine at a price which is attractive to the market. We offer a wide product range within these categories in order to satisfy the needs of our users and their specific requirements.
Ｑ2:How do you handle customer service for customers all over the world?
Ans: OAV has aligned ourselves with direct importers and distributors in different countries which not only stock and sell our product but also service it. They offer technical support and spare parts to the customer to ensure the optimal operation of our machinery. This is particularly important with regards to our edgebander and panel saw products and for over a decade we have aligned ourselves with agents to provide the customers with this service. We understand the importance of timely support and have put together a library of training videos and documents to ensure our distributor partners are fully versed in servicing our machines.
Ｑ3: What can you tell customers to assure them about the capabilities and reliability of your machines?
Ans: OAV was established in 1980 with a goal to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction possible. This is our total focus and we have developed our organization around this goal. We invest continually in research and development, quality control, and education in order to ensure our team members achieve this goal. Our greatest strength at OAV is our dedication to offering the best possible service to meet the needs of customers all over the world. Our next plan is developing the ultimate edge bander with nimble functions, this invention and development will benefit customers and help OAV maintain the leadership in the market. Customizing with needs is the motivation and also the encouragement for new design. It is very important to have a clear blueprint which is pursuing OAV’s philosophy: “satisfy customers, satisfy employees, satisfy investors”
Ｑ4: What new technology are you applying to your machinery?
Ans: Our edgebanders are available with a touch screen user interface. In addition to being more user friendly if offers additional diagnostic functions which provide specific warning information when an issue arrives. This allows for faster solutions when errors arise. Machine with touch screen display and PLC parameter setting on operation bring not only the stable working conditions but also the stable quality of your products. What’s more, patented parameter and barometric speed measurement system win the award from Taiwan woodworking machinery association. This choice is the best helper to optimize customers’ investment and take your organizational output and performance to the next level.
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Eumabois General Assembly 2021 A successful restart despite the Corona pandemic
- 2021-11-12
Eumabois, the European Federation of woodworking machinery and tools manufacturer, held its annual General Assembly on November 5th, 2021.
After substituting the onsite event with Eumabois first “Digital General Assembly” in 2020, the delegates and board members gathered again in presence in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian association FMTI, together with Eumabois president, Jürgen Köppel and the vice president, Luigi De Vito.
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The opening topic was the general outlook on the woodworking industry which has been showing a rapid and very positive recovery. The figures, despite the fact that also the woodworking industry suffers from high material costs and lack of raw material, indicate a sustained growth rate in the mid-term. The global demand remains high, as evidence of the good resilience of the sector in response to the crisis triggered by the Corona virus. Mega-trends such as digitalization and industrial automation, as well as a growing demand for home furniture and kitchens, stimulated by travel restrictions and the cocooning effect, are driving the woodworking industry, too.
Looking at the Eumabois Exhibition Network 2021, most of the shows have been canceled. On the other hand, a full calendar of trade fairs is planned for 2022 with two top exhibitions events: HolzHandwerk in Nuremberg in March and Xylexpo in Milan with a new date in October. The positive signals coming from the exhibition sector are an important step towards the normality confirming the value and relevance of face-to-face events.
The meeting in Vienna was also used to officially launch the new Eumabois website with completely renewed and modern graphics. There were also important news on the technical projects side.: OPCUA (Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture) got the marketing name “IZY”, which has been officially presented to the market during LIGNA.Innovation Network on September 27th, 2021.
At the end of the Assembly, the president Jürgen Köppel expressed his sincere thanks to the hosting association FMTI and to all the present national associations, stating: “…I firmly believe that one of the key pillars for the growth of our industry is our joint European approach.”
The next Eumabois General Assembly will be held on 22nd-23rd of September 2022 in the city of Krakow, Poland.
Source: Eumabois
