Panels & Furniture Asia March/April 2023

FROM THE EDITOR
Normalcy is overrated
As China relaxes its quarantine measures, as
sales and supply chains are stabilising, I am
tempted to say that the industry is back to
normal, pre-pandemic levels. But this begs the
question of what is normal. Is the pre-pandemic
same as the normal?
I have not been in the industry long enough to
answer this question. Seasoned professionals,
I am sure, will have a better and more nuanced
response. But one thing I will say is that
taking the pre-pandemic as the normal is not
necessarily a good thing. It might mean we have
gone backwards, that we have stagnated.
Even the phrase ‘new normal’ should be taken
with a pinch of salt. Every day there are new
circumstances we must take into account.
Wolfgang Neeser, managing director of HOMAG
Asia, speaks about the China Plus One strategy
that is happening in various manufacturing
industries, but is curious how it will affect the
wood and woodworking industry in the future
(p.26). Peter Fitch, CEO of IOI Palm Wood,
speaks about the new EU deforestation-free law
that necessitates companies to produce a due
diligence statement for their products, showing
they are not complicit in deforestation (p.60).
In business context, perhaps normalcy is not
even achievable, out of our control. What we
should be doing, I think, is to future-proof our
operations and business models. Look ahead,
not backwards. Keep ourselves grounded,
but not until we lose sight of what is more
important: ways to innovate, advance our
business, and grow.
In this issue, we feature new products such
as new area grippers by vacuum technology
manufacturer Schmalz (p.28), a new sanding
line by sanding machine manufacturer
Destefani (p.34), and new rubberwood
furniture by Japanese retailer MUJI Singapore
(p.48). We also bring updates about industry
trends. Dieffenbacher goes in depth about
the types of oriented strand board (OSB) in
the industry now (p.32). As mentioned earlier,
our interview with HOMAG Asia details not
just about China Plus One but about furniture
trends on the whole.
We also focused more on structural
engineering in this issue. Take some time to
learn more about the software used in mass
timber construction and prefabrication from
our interview with structural engineering firm
Studio Fornalè (p.52), and admire the mass
timber beauty of the new Black & White
Building in London, UK (p.56). Mass timber
is still slow on the uptake in Asia, especially
South East Asia. But seeing the way it has
taken hold of western countries, maybe it is
time we should pay more attention to it.
YAP SHI QUAN | EDITOR
PANELS &
FURNITURE ASIA
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Front cover image: Leitz Tooling
8 Panels & Furniture Asia | March / April 2023