A regional conference "Doing Business with IKEA" was held in FEZ Grodnoinvest

A regional conference "Doing Business with IKEA" was held in the administration of FEZ Grodnoinvest on December 10, in Grodno. Over 90 domestic and foreign business representatives from different industry branches participated in it.

Within the conference, the IKEA presentation and its basic principles of cooperation with business partners, product quality standards and the minimum requirements of the IKEA supplier’s code of ethics - IWAY were introduced. Olga Rogacheva, the head of IKEA Supply AG Representative Office, Natalya Sklyarova, the head of New Business Projects in Belarus, Vitaly Vashkevich, IKEA sustainability manager were the experts . In total, the conference was attended by over twenty representatives of IKEA regional offices and suppliers.

Experts spoke about the potential of IKEA's cooperation with Belarusian suppliers in different industy brunches. Within the program Go Belarus, it is planned to purchase a wide range of goods items from wood, metal, ceramics, plastic, composite materials, glass. In the category "cabinet furniture" it is planned to purchase affordable kitchens, kitchen fronts and components worth over 70 million euros. In total, the program Go Belarus is expected to increase purchases of goods items produced in Belarus worth 200 million euros or more.

There has been already  a number of successful examples of working with IKEA in the republic. In Belarus, 12 companies produce over 200 articles worth over 130 million euros. Earlier this year, IKEA partners, companies with Polish capital GABI-BEL and Szynaka Mebel Bel were registered as residents of FEZ Grodnoinvest. There are  ongoing negotiations with a number of other manufacturers from Poland and Lithuania. Potential investors are attracted by the availability of raw materials (pine, birch, chipboard and MDF), labor, common customs territory within the EAEU, and FEZ preferences.

In the second part of the conference, an exhibition of IKEA samples was presented, including timber items, metal components, packaging, that could be produced by Belarusian companies. Within the contact and cooperation exchange, Belarusian companies were able to talk about their industrial potential and invite IKEA representatives and their partners to production sites for further discussion of cooperation.

FEZ Grodnoinvest residents presented their potential, including Vector CJSC, ZOV-Plita JLtd., Mebel-Neman JLtd., BelGreenline JLtd., BelGRO Ltd., Mostovdrev JSC, Goldoptima Ltd., Maniteks LLC, ServicePromPak Ltd. , Plant Optic JSC, Gronitex JSC, LLC HS Belacon, etc. The high product quality and manufacturing standards of residents fit perfectly into IKEA system of requirements. For instance, Mebel-Neman JLtd.  talked about its experience in the production of cabinet furniture, kitchens and kitchen elements. As a result, the following day, IKEA representatives are going to visit the production site.