Excellent raw material, qualified labor and a flexible industry are the mainstream factors in this favorable scenario for inserting Brazil in the world context. Nowadays, the country counts on more than 16 thousand small-, medium- and large-size furniture companies, which achieved sales in the order of US$ 7.1 billions in 2006. As for exportations, transactions of approximately US$ 1 billion were recorded, a 1.964% growth in relation to the beginning of 1990s, the time when the modernization of the national manufacturing plant began.
The national furniture sector is among the most important segments of the Transformation Industry in Brazil, not only due to the importance of its production, but mainly because it is a meaningful job generator (230 thousand jobs of direct labor).
Machinery used by the furniture industry is quite new, reflecting constant investments that have been made. The average age of the machines is 8.4 years, which is inferior to the average age in Italy (12 years) or in the United States (9.6 years), two large worldwide furniture producers.
The modernization of the manufacturing plant, of productive processes, of raw materials and inputs has occurred in a gradual and on-going manner, since it has been one of the main ways found by the sector to sustain its growth both in internal and external markets. This latter one has gained great importance and, currently, exportations account for approximately 15% of sales in the sector.
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