On May 19, 2023, 70 entrepreneurs from the furniture, door, and woodworking industries became participants in a lean tour organized by UAFM in Bila Tserkva.

We are extremely grateful for the trust you have shown in our team. We hope that this tour has been an important experience for each of you, helping you understand the principles of Lean and how to implement them in your business.

 

Together, we visited manufacturing facilities that have already implemented Lean and achieved certain results in implementing Lean production in their manufacturing and administrative processes.

We started by visiting ViANT, a furniture factory that produces modern and functional modular furniture. They continuously expand and modernize their production capacities, study market needs, and stay up-to-date with innovations in materials and hardware.

During the war, a furniture catalogue for the armed forces was developed. They are opening a new line – upholstered furniture. The factory aims to enter the European market. ViANT has all the necessary capabilities for this:

• modern equipment and production technologies;
• an efficient management system;
• a team of progressive specialists;
• an arsenal of new ideas for future development.

By combining all these capabilities with an effective market demand forecasting system, the factory team shared their knowledge and experience with the tour participants to jointly represent the shared brand of Ukrainian furniture, #furnitureofukraine, on the international stage.

Next, we visited the Senam SM 55 furniture factory, which produces high-quality mass-produced furniture that brings satisfaction to customers both in terms of use and assembly.

▪️ Over 20 years in the market.

▪️ From a small company with one person to over 70 professionals.

▪️ Over 500 serial products per month.

▪️ They have their painting workshop.

▪️ Constantly improving their product in terms of quality and price to remain competitive.

“We need to develop the furniture industry in Ukraine! The most important thing is that we have the opportunities for it. We must show the world that Ukrainian furniture is the best!” – Yevhen Saveliev, owner and CEO of the Senam furniture factory.

We finished the visit program at Magnet LLC.

The company provides a comprehensive range of metal processing services, including laser cutting, bending, perforation, milling, drilling, and welding of complex metal products and forms. They manufacture parts for heavy and light industries, as well as intricate components for precision equipment.

Company mission:

▪️ To provide opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to realize their projects and ideas.

▪️ Continuous improvement of the quality of metal processing services.

In addition to the tour and Lean training, the participants enjoyed a networking reception with delicious food and engaging conversations with colleagues and like-minded individuals.

The only thing that deviated from the plan and was beyond our control at the time but could be rectified later was Olga Peretyatko’s unexpected illness. Olga is a Lean 6 Sigma consultant, and Lean coach in Lean Six Sigma, who was scheduled to conduct training during the Lean tour but couldn’t do so on the day of the event. However, she provided recommendations for delivering presentations to company executives, who did an excellent job with the task. We asked the participants to prepare questions for Olga, and a few days later, we met online where everyone could receive expert answers and advice.

Thus, we practically demonstrated that nothing is impossible for UAFM because our unity motivates and supports everyone within the community towards improvement and inspires us to create events and activities that are valuable to you. Of course, this would not be possible without the help of our partners! We sincerely thank Kleiberit-Ukraine and its director, Tetiana Kravets, who consistently support our educational initiatives and assist furniture and door manufacturers in becoming true industry leaders. Kleiberit-Ukraine not only produces modern adhesive systems but also contributes to expanding the possibilities of the industry.