Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the furniture manufacturers BW Bielefelder Werkstätten and Nolte Küchen to gain insight into the industry situation from the management.
'North Rhine-Westphalia is the number 1 furniture location in Germany and Europe. The powerful heart of the furniture industry in North Rhine-Westphalia beats in East Westphalia-Lippe. Numerous family-run companies— including many kitchen manufacturers—form a dense value-added network here and combine traditional craftsmanship, forward-looking technology, and innovative strength. It proves the value of innovations that the furniture industry is intensively dealing with the opportunities of a circular economy and is actively participating in our initiative Round Table Circular Value Creation NRW. High-quality raw materials such as wood are therefore less likely to end up in bulky waste but are returned to the production cycle,' says Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Neubaur.
Visit to Nolte Küchen: Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur of NRW (middle), directors Rüdiger Schliekmann, Manfred Wippermann, Torben Karasek, and Heiko Maibach, and association director Jan Kurth (from left to right). Photo: VDM/VHK.
At the headquarters of BW Bielefelder Werkstätten Heinz Anstoetz Polstermöbelfabrik KG, managing partner Stephan Anstoetz guided the minister through the production of premium upholstered furniture. In view of the economic weakness, faltering construction activity, and high bureaucratic effort, the market environment is currently challenging, Anstoetz reported.
Founded in 1956 and part of the JAB ANSTOETZ Group, which specialises in home textiles, BW produces and sells high-quality upholstered furniture, beds, tables, and lighting for private households, offices, hotels, and restaurants with 140 employees. BW relies heavily on cooperation with local suppliers and freight forwarders to make delivery routes as short as possible, said Anstoetz. In particular, the durability of the products and the possibility for the end consumer to have the furniture reupholstered even after many years take into account the important topic of sustainability at BW. A large-scale photovoltaic system and a modern biogas combined heat and power plant are used for sustainable energy generation.
The managing directors of the Löhne-based kitchen furniture manufacturer Nolte Küchen GmbH & Co. KG also drew attention to the high bureaucratic burdens facing the German furniture industry. As an example, Heiko Maibach, Rüdiger Schliekmann, and Manfred Wippermann mentioned the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in conversation with Mona Neubaur. It is not possible for medium-sized companies to meet the complex requirements for data infrastructure as well as the processes in operations and in the value chain by the end of the year. From December 30, 2024—according to the current requirements of the EUDR—products containing the raw material wood may only be placed on the market via a deforestation-free supply chain with appropriate documentation requirements. In addition, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) has been in force since January 1, 2023, which requires companies with at least 1,000 employees to comply with human rights and environmental due diligence obligations along their entire supply chain by identifying, taking measures, and reporting on risks.
During the tour of the plant at the company headquarters in Löhne, the Nolte Küchen managing directors presented the highly automated production of kitchen components. Digitized processes ensure a high level of precision in production. In its plants in Löhne and Melle, the family-owned company, founded in 1958, manufactures more than 150,000 individually configured kitchens as well as furniture for bathrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms on 113,000 square meters every year. Around 1,460 employees are employed. Nolte Küchen is strongly promoting its initiatives on the topic of sustainability. In 2022, the first sustainability report was published, which was prepared based on the criteria of the German Sustainability Code (DNK): among other things, the manufacturer has been a climate-neutral company since 2020 and has been sourcing its electricity entirely from renewable energies since 2021.
'It was very important to us that Mona Neubaur once again took the time to exchange ideas with our industry, which is particularly formative for North Rhine-Westphalia,' said Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Associations of the German Furniture Industry. 'Even though the furniture industry is currently facing a difficult market situation, it continues to actively shape the transformation to a circular economy and also hopes for framework conditions that are suitable for SMEs and low bureaucracy,' Kurth adds.
More information:
Associations of the German Furniture Industry (VDM/VHK)
www.moebelindustrie.de