Brazil, a giant of the world economy, here will be seen through the magnifying glass of number 211 of Verniciatura del legno e altri materiali, a specialist magazine directed by Danilo and Patricia Malavolti. An investigative report dedicated to South America also includes an interview with Renner Sayerlack General Manager, Marcelo Cenacchi. Hereafter the interview in its wholeness.
THE BRAZILIAN FURNITURE INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
Interview with Marcelo Cenacchi, General Manager of Renner Sayerlack
Cajamar, Sao Paulo – The furniture industry in Brazil follows some international trends, while others relate to local traditions and sensitivities. To overview this field of the industry, we met Marcelo Cenacchi, General Manager of Brazilian Sayerlack (the company is present in the rest of the world with the brand Renner, which also has production plants in Italy, in Minerbio – Bologna).
Which are the fields where most of the coatings are used for furniture finishing?
MC – In Brazil, the market is very differentiated: for example, in the field of office furniture, basically no coating is used, while in all production of high-level, e.g. in kitchens one, there are high performance cycles, such as UV drying coatings. But you can find coatings everywhere! Both for
high middle and low range furniture, with different cycles, PU, UV and water cycles. On the other hand, in the field of popular residential furniture,coatings have been often used, even with “wood effect” obtained with a roller UV cycle, on chipboards or MDF, applied with very low thickness. Coatings are nowadays still considered one of the most important durable and cheap system
for furniture finishing. Over time, laminated panel manufacturers have been able to conquer part of the market by offering the product covered by a better melamine paper than other papers on the market. Currently, people again uses coatings because the Brazilian consumer has aligned with the trends of other countries: who can afford “customized” furniture, with regard to both color and customization, is willing to spend a little more, yet demanding a well finished furniture. This is why there is a general comeback to coatings which, especially through the use of automated systems, allow a differentiated production of shapes, sizes and colors.
Does the tendency expect increasing the use of the coatings?
MC – Of course we hope so, and this hope is supported by the fact that, as we have seen, the furniture manufacturers’ first need to stay on the market is to propose to consumers differentiated products, with their own features and a strong personality, feature which has been greatly reduced in the last years. Furniture manufacturers, in fact, have decided to invest in almost complete semi-finished products to facilitate production, which prevents a differentiation of the finished product. For this reason, the use of coatings will grow, which is the most economically advantageous way to propose different finishing and colors.
Will the demand for more advanced application systems also increase?
MC – In fact, it is so: the Brazilian furniture industry reference to the European one, in particular the Italian one, but also the German one, and is perfectly aware of all existing production systems and machines. There are some national companies that produce with more “traditional” plant, of the highest quality, but in general all innovations come from Europe. As long as there will be political uncertainty, however, no company will invest, waiting for the situation to become more defined. The other problem is given by the size of businesses: the very small or small companies which constitute much of the production in this field have neither the economic or cultural strength to approach innovations.
Which are the expectations for the future?
MC – We think that the production turning point will take place in Brazil when it will be more common to develop a made in Brazil product that is based on our own culture, which has an image that corresponds to what is perceived from the outside. As long as the Brazilian furniture will not capture its own image – thanks to the development of its own design culture – it will be difficult to have a global visibility and, therefore, an export market. In the future, companies will have to work hard on brand and product, proposing a differentiation of models that are not currently available on the market.
So far, the interview with Renner Sayerlack GM, Marcelo Cenacchi, protagonist of the Renner Global Alliance. In the next issue of Verniciatura del legno.
