For the Chamber, 2024 was a year of well-organized and successful events, international and Bulgarian exhibitions, media trips to various enterprises. We created new partnerships, found support from companies and organizations, fought battles to protect the interests of members, and categorically declared our presence in the public space.

Here is the most important things we have achieved in the past 366 days!

Ето какво е най-важното, което постигнахме през изминалите през изминали 366 дни!

• Among our key priorities was promoting the quality of Bulgarian furniture and strengthening the good image of companies from the 2 sectors. To this end, we not only continued the campaign “Bulgarian Furniture – Traditions and Innovations”, but also developed it.
• We organized media trips to the Mebel Stil enterprises in Targovishte, Kastamonu Bulgaria in Gorno Sahrane, Irim, Gorainvest and Ergodesign – in Ruse, TED BED, Kitchens Dialogue in Plovdiv and Mebelni Fabriki – Colorado.
• For the first time, the Chamber participated in a media competition – B2B Media – Leaders of Influence with the campaign “Bulgarian Furniture – Traditions and Innovations” and won 1st prize in the Agent of Change category.
• Among the main problems we tried to solve was the high prices of wood and the difficulties of companies in the industry. We participated and initiated in a series of meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Executive Forestry Agency, and the National Forestry Council. We participated as participants in working groups and round tables. We sent over 20 official letters and statements, in which we expressed the problems of both industries.
• We were presented in 173 publications by media such as Kapital, Dnevnik, bTV, Bloomberg, Darik, Investor, Money, BTA, Bulgarian National Radio and many others.
• We actively worked on postponing the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament, the so-called EUDR, on the topic of deforestation, by organizing meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture and the IAG and openly expressing the position of our members. As part of EFIC, we participated in preparing clarifications on the impact of the regulation on business and in drafting letters and opinions urging postponements.
• We were also active in the awareness-raising campaign for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which was adopted this year. The Chamber, as a member of EFIC, was directly involved in the special working group at the EC, which launched the preparation of a delegated act for furniture. It will be able to start being applied in the sector by the end of 2028.
• We provided our members with opportunities for new business contacts, which we secured from over 20 inquiries from various companies and organizations.
• We organized 14 trainings specifically for companies in the sector on current and important topics: digital marketing, artificial intelligence, circular economy, applying for European projects, intellectual property and copyright, etc.
• We actively participated in working groups of the Ministry of Education and Science related to changes in the law on vocational education.
• For another year, we were a main partner at the opening of the academic year at the University of Forestry and organized the event “Introducing the Profession” for first-year students.
• Together with Inter Expo Center, we organized the two exhibitions EXPOMEBEL and TECHNOMEBEL.
• We held the Annual Conference on November 22-23 and gathered over 350 people, representatives of companies from the 2nd industry, institutions, employer organizations, lecturers.
• We organized the first-ever international conference “Circular Economy and Ecodesign in the Furniture Industry – Challenges and Opportunities” on October 3 in Sofia together with BSMEPA with the aim of explaining the new regulations related to deforestation and ecodesign of sustainable products, which was attended by over 150 representatives of companies from the sector, partners and institutions.
• At the invitation of IBIA Expo, the Chamber is organizing a fully funded visit to the 3rd edition of the international fair dedicated to mattresses, the most current materials and technologies in the sector, in the period September 26-28, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey.
• We participated in organizing a visit of the Cyprus Federation of Employers and Industrialists, which is a partner of the BBCWFI, to several furniture and woodworking companies in early November with the aim of establishing new contacts and potential partnerships.
• We participated in two projects in partnership with the BIA and the Italian furniture federation FederlegnoArredo.

We work extremely actively for everyone in the industry. We are convinced that only if the industries are united can they achieve real development and be recognized by society as significant!