The exhibition is organised by the international exhibition company ITE Uzbekistan and its partner ITE Exhibitions & Conferences Ltd. (UK).

This year, about 40 companies from 13 countries will take part in the exhibition. Among the participating countries are: Austria, UK, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and South Korea. The body of exhibitors includes 18 newcomers. Of the total number of exhibitors, 26% are representatives of the domestic market, and 74% are international companies and their representatives.

The capacity of Uzbekistan’s furniture market is demonstrated by the exhibition, which comprises several sectors: machinery, parts and materials for furniture production, fittings, and ready-made furniture sets.

The machinery sector is traditionally occupied by major companies in the industry, such as the German machine tool companies Homag Gus Gmbh, Altendorf, Brandt, Leitz Gmbh & Co. Kg, and Weeke; and SCM Group Spa (Italy), a leading manufacturer of woodworking machinery, represented in the market by Arhar Engineering (Slovenia). The products of the well-known firm Leuco (Germany) - a leading international manufacturer of tools for furniture production and woodworking - will be presented at the exhibition by Master Plyus.

Fritz Kohl (Germany), a leading producer of veneers in Europe specialising in the production of high-quality veneers from different woods, is participating in the furniture parts and materials sector for the second consecutive year. The newcomers to this sector are the Greek companies Alfa Wood SA and Shelman SA, leaders in the wood processing industry in south-eastern Europe, which will present MDF, chipboard, veneers and other timber materials to the Uzbek market.

Julius Blum Gmbh (Austria), the well-known manufacturer of kitchen furniture fittings, will again exhibit this year. The Blum brand made a successful debut at the exhibition last year. It will be joined by a new exhibitor - Schlegel Taliana SL (Spain), a leading international manufacturer of sealants, insulators, seals and fillers for windows, doors and sliding door wardrobe systems.

The debut of Korwood Corporation Limited (UK - Russia) promises to be memorable. The company is the exclusive representative of the Samsung artificial stone products of Samsung Cheil Industries (South Korea) in the CIS and Georgia. Komandor Star (Uzbekistan) will also present artificial stone, for use in the manufacture of kitchen furniture, and other products of its own production.

A wide selection of ready-made furniture sets are produced and sold by Pinskdrev and Rechitsadrev, which are regular exhibitors at MebelExpo Uzbekistan and leading companies in the Belarusian furniture industry. They also supply furniture, parts, chipboard, plywood and other types of timber to Uzbekistan.

A large part of the furniture exhibition will be taken up by the stands of Uzbekistani manufacturers. The following companies are participating in the exhibition: MEBEL JV, Eman JV, Tus Buero JV, Art Furniture FE and Genmark Furniture FE, Etikod PE, Art Metall LLC, Galaxy Orion LLC, Khayriddinov PE and Art Vitraj. These companies produce a wide range of furniture for the home and office, and public and social institutions, as well as parts for furniture production.

The active participation in the exhibition of local producers of ready-made furniture and parts demonstrates the effectiveness of MebelExpo Uzbekistan. The exhibition has become a major platform for business contacts in the production and creation of domestic furniture, supporting the current trend of development in Uzbekistan’s furniture industry.

During the conference in Tashkent, chairperson of the Board of Fayz holding company Mukarramhon Azimova said that some 900 enterprises are operating in furniture industry of Uzbekistan now. She added that Uzbekistan imports 20% of furniture from abroad and other 80% produced locally.

MebelExpo Uzbekistan 2011 will be held place alongside UzBuild 2011, the leading construction exhibition in Uzbekistan. The co-location of these two successful exhibitions is aimed at creating a single informational field, allowing industry professionals to learn about the latest technologies and interesting solutions and developments in these related industries.

According to the organisers’ forecasts, MebelExpo Uzbekistan will increase the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan’s furniture industry, presenting solutions for the production of high-quality furniture, and providing industry professionals with an opportunity to assess the furniture market, and analyse the prospects for its development and new competitive advantages.

Uzbekistan’s furniture industry is largely dependent on raw materials from overseas, but this is not an obstacle to the expansion of furniture production, which is related to the implementation of one of the government’s most important priorities: increasing the incomes and improving the living standards of the population. Incidentally, the market has quite a large proportion of small and private businesses, whose activities are also stimulated by the government. It is no secret that domestic companies are largely guided by international furniture brands, adopting their positive experiences in production and supply of the domestic market – as a result of this, the products of domestic manufacturers have already gained a significant part of the country’s furniture market and have a high consumer rating.