Panels & Furniture Asia September/October 2020

22 | IN PERSON
September / October 2020, Issue 5 | Panels & Furniture Asia
Smart Manufacturing: HOMAG and
Indonesian Furniture Manufacturer
Furnindo Pave the Way
By Jo-Ann Teo
As global manufacturers shift beyond merely automation, wood panel processors and furniture
manufacturers are looking towards the use of smart technology to optimise production lines and further
streamline processes. HOMAG, a world leader in providing integrated solutions for the woodworking sector,
endeavours to enable their partners to achieve Industry 4.0 and get ahead of the game.
Here, we explore how a leading Indonesian furniture manufacturer partnered
with HOMAG to embrace smart automation in their factory right from the get go.
In a part of the world where manual woodworking methods are still considered
the norm, what was the motivation behind the change and what challenges
came along with this unusual endeavour? Panels & Furniture Asia had the
opportunity to speak with Tim Spanjaart, Managing Director of Furnindo and
Chief Operating Officer of AVIP, to find out more.
Tim Spanjaart
FURNINDO AND AVIP
Furnindo Utama Asia is one of Indonesia’s leading panel
processing furniture manufacturers, and is the daughter company
of AVIP – a professional design and build interior architecture firm
that has been providing the Indonesian market with workspace
fit-out solutions for the past 26 years. Established at the beginning
of 2016 in Tangerang, Java, Furnindo’s factory currently spans
around 5,500 square meters and employs a strength of about
40 staff members.
Before the establishment of Furnindo, AVIP was heavily reliant
on the outsourcing of furniture production as their 500-sq-m
workshop in Indonesia was largely unable to produce sufficient
yield. Despite an attempt to shift from manual practices by
importing second-hand digitally controlled machinery from the
Netherlands, the space that they had was still insufficient for
AVIP’s rapid growth. Looking to reduce the amount spent on
outsourcing, as well as resolve issues with product quality and
timely delivery, Tim, then Production Manager at AVIP, and his
management team saw the iminent need for an upgrade.
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING
That’s how Furnindo was born. In 2015, the decision was made
to invest in their own factory and the goal was to produce
customised furniture and interiors with as much automation as
possible. Despite the higher investment needed to kick-start a
fully automatic panel processing line, Tim and his team wanted
to move away from manual production right from the start to
minimise mistakes and errors.
“It was an investment to make, but weighing the advantages and
disadvantages made us come to the conclusion that it would be
good to do this right from the beginning,” Tim said. “If we had
to implement this while we were already running the production
process, it could create a lot of unforeseen issues and slow you
down when you have deadlines to meet.”
His team then contacted a local representative of HOMAG and
purchased a panel dividing saw (SAWTEQ B-300) and CNC
processing centre with edging capabilities (CENTATEQ P-310
and Edge Bander NKR782). Tim shared that his late father led
the decision to work with HOMAG.
One of AVIP’s interior fit-out projects – commissioned by Dana Indonesia