Innovation in the development of new, competitive furniture products will come to the fore at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (dtic) Furniture Design Competition Awards ceremony this afternoon.
Friday’s award ceremony will take place at the Kyalami Grand Prix and International Expo Centre in Sandton, Gauteng.
“The competition has been established to create an opportunity to promote innovation in the development of new, competitive furniture products and to contribute towards skills development initiatives. Participants include students from local academic institutions who are studying towards related fields and other emerging furniture designers,” the department said ahead of the ceremony.
The Acting Deputy Director-General at the dtic, Dr Tebogo Makube, said the annual competition complements the development of design courses and design workshops.
“The Furniture Industry Masterplan adopted in 2021 identifies the shortage of high-level skills in the furniture industry such as design and skilled artisans in furniture manufacturing as a major concern. This limits South African furniture manufacturers’ capacity to supply world-class products in line with both domestic and global market demand, and thus negatively affects the industry’s competitiveness,” Makube said.
He added that design can also be used as a creative instrument that will link industry players’ creativity and innovative products.
“It is thus possible to position the local industry as the producer of high-value niche furniture products that are globally competitive based on quality and/or differentiated designs. This requires a concerted effort on the part of the public and private sectors to develop programs that address the challenges that constrain the industry from achieving potential growth levels and significantly raise the levels of competitiveness,” he explained.
The competition is a partnership between the dtic, the South African Furniture Initiative (SAFI), Industrial Development Corporation, Proudly South African, Furntech, and other industry players such as Mecad Solidworks, PG Bison, Lewis Group, Zaptly, and Rubio Monocoat, will also sponsor competition prizes. -SAnews.gov.za
