UAFM takes care of the growth of the furniture industry, that the technologies of furniture production develop, and that every furniture maker receives more opportunities for the development of his own business. For this, the association should unite more members and create new products. The Rivne furniture cluster is a product that grows from the very soil of the association, using the principle of positive-sum already operating in the community, which is the main one for the cluster’s activities. That is, a cluster, like an association, should create a common field of activity, eliminate competition and provide benefits to all its members. In short, the association works like this: UAFM members cease to be competitors, share experience, create large-scale networking and increase the overall profit of the industry and each business separately. Similarly, the producers of the Rivne region, uniting and working according to this already tested UAFM principle, but in closer local solidarity, will be able to benefit from joint activities, using the information and intellectual property of the association.

One of the necessary elements of the cluster’s activity is cooperation with the authorities. In this case, the government was the driving force for this cluster to happen. We are very grateful to the Rivne Regional Military Administration, namely the head of RRMA, Vitaly Koval, and his deputy Serhii Hemberg, who demonstrated their proactive position and provided support for the cluster development of the region.

Understanding this, we held a strategic session of the Rivne furniture cluster on December 16, 2022.

Purpose: to determine the needs and challenges of potential participants of the cluster, their purpose of participation in the cluster, and the key competencies of each of the participants, to determine the key tasks and goals of the cluster.

At first, the participants of the strategic session discussed options for how the cluster’s activities might look. Two systems were considered: cyclic (processes) and one-time (projects). The participants determined that the activity should look like a process with many projects inside.

Next, the session participants described the product creation cycle of the Rivne furniture cluster. Taras Komarenko said whether the enterprises of Volyn will also be part of the cluster, other participants agreed that it is necessary. Also, at the request of Roman Zelinsky, the issues of the cluster’s vision and mission were clarified. Most of the participants emphasized that a project is necessary to launch a cluster. Dmytro Patis offered to jointly produce tables.

Next, we identified the players of the Rivne furniture cluster. They also identified the common needs of cluster participants that can be satisfied through cooperation. Inna Shklyar, responsible for the movement of the cluster, was mentioned.

As a result, the first goals of the cluster and the performance indicators of the cluster manager were determined.

In three hours of active work, we managed to develop a strategy for the Rivne furniture cluster and define the first steps for launch.

The participants of the strategic session were:

• Yury Dyug, coordinator of the initiative “For the wood market”
• Gennadiy Sheludko, CEO of Ki-Pro LLC
• Patis Volodymyr, President of UAFM, co-owner of ESCADA-M LLC
• Komarenko Taras, owner of TM Smart People, NGO “Praktiko”
• Dmytro Patis, co-owner of ESCADA-M LLC
• Oleg Mydlovets, owner of LLC “Neman TM”
• Roman Zelinsky, owner of “Warmhouse Group” LLC
• Valentyn Podgornov, Kleiberit-Ukraine LLC
• Inna Shklyar, UAFM communications manager

Facilitator of the strategy session:

Vitaly Ivakhov, member of the Board of UAFM, owner of the company “100% Interior”.

“Business is about people. In order for the cluster to develop, people must communicate.”

The meeting in the city of Rivne, where on February 9, 2022, hundreds of managers of the forestry, woodworking, furniture, and door industries, representatives of specialized educational institutions and authorities gathered, was an effective confirmation of these words of the President of the UAFM, Volodymyr Patis, and the principles of unifying the association.

The Rivne Regional Military Administration headed by Vitaly Koval and his deputy Serhii Hemberg identify the furniture industry as one of the priorities for the development of the region and support the cluster initiative at the state level, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Strong support for the development of the cluster is also provided by the company “Kronospan UA” LLC, whose general director Nataliya Pokinska, during her speech, expressed a clear position regarding the creation of favourable conditions for the development of the Rivne furniture cluster.

 

We invite all furniture makers of the Rivne and Volhynia regions who are interested in cooperation to join the process of creating a cluster and fill out the questionnaire.

Register