Ukraine confidently establishing new production of basic materials for furniture making: in Novovolynsk commissioned a new plant of chipboard, subsequently in Korosten began to produce its own MDF, and recently in Mykolayiv has established production of PVC-edge. With the new domestic manufacturer of edge materials and its products, we acquaints one of the owners of the company «Kromag» Volodymyr Moiseenko.
– we can say that the company “Kromag” gave the life of Mykolayiv Company, the name of your magazine – “Furniture Technologies”, which was supplied to the domestic market and sold furniture components and materials, in particular and edge. However, we did not have a desire to establish their own production of products for furniture. A clear understanding of how it could be this product, after nine years ago I was acquainted with the furniture exhibition in Poznan with the experts of the Polish company, which successfully produced a production of molded materials. They said they could help to launch the same production in Ukraine. For us, such an offer was acceptable: the Polish company is able to produce high-quality edge, and we have experience of selling such materials in the Ukrainian market, knowing its features.
As we can see, from the beginning of such cooperation to the national market of finished products – the left-of-the-skier edge of Ukrainian production – it has passed a lot of time, because the preparatory work was very troublesome. After all, we started a new thing for us and for Ukraine, we can say from scratch.
The Polish specialists, who have implemented with us this project, really helped very much, because at home has gained considerable experience in the extreme production. It is due to their efforts now in the Polish market dominates the edge of the domestic production, which not only forced the ubiquitous Chinese products of this segment, but also had a well-known European authorities. We are confident that it will happen in Ukraine over time.
Further, Vladimir Petrovich took a conversation about what Mykolayiv edge differs from the well-known foreign trade marks. Of course, the price, but also the practicality and convenience: the domestic edge of the textures and colors oriented to the appropriate parameters of plate materials primarily domestic producers. And as for the quality of Ukrainian PVC tapes, they are at the level of the most famous brands – in this firmly assured Mr. Moyseyenko. Will believe. and furniture-practitioners could check: and at the presentation event, and at the exhibition booth of the Company “Kromag” during the May Day in Kiev, all comers gave a few meters so-called traffic jams, in order to produce, on their own equipment, with Using the glue used in the course of the adhesive operations, they could experience the Mykolayiv edge. “But this does not mean,” Volodymyr Petrovych emphasized, – that the first of our products is the test – it is European confectioners, because we have not intended to experiment on our clients, testing the quality of our edge on their products. Polish specialists, engaged in the production of edge for more than ten years, well knew all the problematic moments of the starting stage, so when the launch of new production in Ukraine helped to avoid the typical problems in this case.
Now the Ukrainian edge at the Mykolayiv plant produce two technological lines. 10.5 mln. Meters in the three most popular sizes and 72 color variations, which are most common in the market of Ukraine. Plus 12 single tones. Today it is 80, respectively, with the popular decoding of the plate materials of domestic production.
More specifically about the size parameters. For chipboard thickness 16 – 18 mm Kromag plant offer 22-millimeter edges with thickness of 0.6; 1 and 2 mm. It is known that the furniture is used and the thinner (0.4 – 0,45 mm) molded tapes, but the equipment and the technology that are served in the company “Kromag”, designed for standard 0.6-millimeter thickness. As for the width, the range of the Mykolayiv plant is also a ribbon width of 32 and 42 mm. Maximum Mykolayiv edge can reach 60 mm. But exclusively, on request, the plant can produce edges of non-standard width.
Now there are two glossy options: white and black. and four variants of textures: smooth, cork, wood (which at-Tamna 80% of the edge product) and the so-called “Linea”. All products of Mykolayiv edge-builders are certificated in Ukraine.
Italian equipment for continuous extrusion production of PVC-edge at the Mykolayiv plant is the newest generation. No European manufacturer of edge has no more modern, more perfect. This is one more argument in favour of quality production.
the Company “Kromag” has ambitious plans to fill the Ukrainian market with its own products. To do this, it is planned to bring production up to 10-11 millions meters per month, in large cities to create trade offices with permanent warehouses, so that any domestic furniture production was convenient to order, buy and deliver the necessary number of the required material Range. Thus, the furniture factories will not need to provide a significant amount of edge materials-these reserves will always be in the warehouses of the manufacturer of edge, which is characterized by convenient logistics of the European standard: Today ordered – Tomorrow-the day after tomorrow received. and Mykolayiv extremes also assure that in partnership relations there is no such restriction as a minimum order size.
– Volodymyr Petrovych, you have started to implement a rather large investment project with the extreme production of the difficult situation in Ukraine – and not only economic. Have you risked or were sure that he would become successful?
– Business practice and my own business experience paradoxically certify: even in the crisis times you can realize successful investment projects, if they are to get off. In addition, we have considered the objective factors. First of all in Ukraine we started to produce such product. Now the market is sufficiently high-quality import edge of a wide range, but for local furniture is not enough. Because now it is important not only to moisten to buy the desired material, and get a convenient service. To reach European level service in Ukraine it is possible only on condition that there will be placed and production of edge – with warehouses of the required quantity and sorting of finished products, with other logistical advantages.
Are we afraid of competition with the licking products of both the well-known European producers and Chinese, which are low prices? No. In the Ukrainian market will suffice, we are ready to compete adequately. Moreover, again given the Polish experience, we are sure that in five years in the Ukrainian market will dominate the edge of domestic production. And not just our brand. And that’s good. The healthy competition of several Ukrainian producers will revive the market, maintain high quality products and its attractive prices, will help to innovate the production.
– When you launch this investment project, did you expect some assistance from the state or local authorities?
-Investors no one has not counted, relying on their own forces. Actually, in Europe, as well as business affairs-and there is no state to solve the entrepreneur of his problem. It was important for us to at least be prevented, so we are thankful that we are not really creating obstacles in this project.
-You have made a bet on the production of PVC-edge, because it is this material for the licking most use Ukrainian furniture. As you know, in Europe, the most popular are abs-edges, which consider more environmentally friendly than PVC. Could it be the focus on these European trends?
In Poland, there are four domestic producers of extreme materials, and none of them were not washed with the attention of furniture manufacturers. In Ukraine, our production is the only thing, and the market is even bigger than the Polish, so it is likely that our products will be a demand. Actually, this convinces the number of applications we received during the May Day exhibition. That is why it is now no longer a concern for us whether we will have a sale, but there will be enough current reserves to meet all the received applications.
As for features of the edges of ABS and PVC. The advantages of the ABS-product are actually controversial: ABS-edge more expensive, because it is more expensive to manufacture, it is not as elastic as PVC, so it is harder to work in winter. The indexes of the content of materials are different. ABS in the case of fire will burn, PVC-only smoldering, but it is formed by Chad. What’s better? As someone. It is like to ask what Holiday is better – Christmas or Easter. In most Ukrainian furniture production equipment is not so modern and perfect, so as to properly avoid the flow edges of ABS tapes, and for what is better to take PVC-material. And at the end of such an argument: the final consumer is still, how the material is cast edges of furniture products – it will be interested primarily the attractiveness of texture and color of the edge.
If the Ukrainian furniture has a tendency to change the abs edge, for our production it will not be a problem: the equipment, which we have with the same success begins to produce ABS tapes. Our technologists only have to change the recipe of the material. But the realities are now such that in the well-known German giants-Krakovnikov considerable assortment percentage of abs-product, but PVC still dominates.
– You produce molded ribbons with solid margin of width under standard thickness of plate materials, which are most popular in Ukraine…
So. For cutting of chipboard 16-and 18-millimeter offer edge width of 22 mm. For designed for tops 38-millimeter slabs – width 42 mm. This reserve is justified, because practice shows that, for example, the declared 18-millimeter plate is actually either a little thinner, or thicker.
One of the essential advantages of the domestic edge is that it textures and colors oriented and plate products of domestic producers. Kronospan Ukraine has presented a new collection of decors. How fast can you offer the furniture and the edge of the appropriate new decor?
– Fast enough. But it is hardly actually in the decor of the offerings of the Plin is to react so quickly. A certain thing, not all of the manufacturers of new decor plates will have the same success among the designers and manufacturers of furniture, and in the end consumers. We are more profitable to study the demand on the proposed tile new decors to produce edges for those of them that will have the greatest demand on the market.
-In general, your edge is a conditional domestic product, by geographic rate. and in fact – PVC-raw materials, paints, equipment imported, technology borrowed…
– Yes, but we would have benefited from all the Ukrainian, if it were in Ukraine. But is it for our future clients the determinative of what raw material and on which equipment is made edge? For them it is important that it is quality, assortment, sizes, prices and how fast and convenient it can be purchased and delivered to their furniture factory.
– PVC extrusion technology allows to produce products of various purposes. Planning to expand production or produce only edges, increasing their range and production volumes?
– You know, maybe in time, if it is economically advantageous and will allow the power of equipment, will produce not only the edge. But in the coming years we will focus only on the edges, the market which we know well, the production of which investors have been thoroughly considered and predicted. I will say such: to produce, for example, skirting boards on such complex and expensive equipment – it would be a waste. It is for more complex technological tasks. Produce something more difficult than the edge-that’s what would be interesting.
– You are proud to have obtained the production equipment of such class, which have not and well-known European producers for the Mykolayiv plant…
– To be precise, it is such a modern and high class as in our famous competitors. But the machine tools do not stand still, and constantly improve the popular models of their cars. So, since we have the most younger extremes in Europe, we have purchased the extrusion equipment of the latest modification. At the heart of its it is the same as in competitors, but in some structural details are innovative.