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Wilheim Gábor

president

Interview with President of the Association of Hungarian Furniture and Woodworking Industries

How did you end up in this profession?

I tell everyone that I am a woodworm with a university degree; I graduated from a woodworking university in Dresden, where I was taken by a series of coincidences. After four years spent in a brilliant high school in Kőszeg, I succeeded in getting admitted to Dresden. There, a Hungarian professor was lecturing at the Faculty of Architecture, and he allowed me to attend the classes of interior designers. I came back home with a degree in woodworking recognised in Sopron and with some practical knowledge of interior design.

With this level of qualification, how was your job search?

Being a scholarship awardee, I was offered a choice of two jobs by the ministry: either at the Tisza Furniture Factory—for me, that was at the end of the world, compared to Kőszeg—, or at the Kanizsa Furniture Factory in Nagykanizsa, where my father had been supplying fabric for decades as part of his work. It was a simple decision.

At the Kanizsa Furniture Factory I was lucky again; the manager at the time had the idea that, although I had completed some theoretical stuff, I didn't know anything about the trade. So, for six months, he sent me to work in all parts of the factory, one by one, and I spent a month in each technical area. I mean I worked in the woodworking plant, in the upholstery plant, with the cooperative partners, and I made personal contacts with the workers practically everywhere, who then helped me a lot when I became a manager.

At that time, 1.500 people worked in the Kanizsa Furniture Factory. Just to give an example: there was a 130-strong preventive maintenance team, which is unthinkable in a factory of this kind today. I then had the opportunity to work at the development department and be involved in furniture design. We worked a lot to get selected for the Budapest International Fair (BNV) furniture exhibition, and we have two grand prizes we were awarded for our work. I first came here in 1977, it was a really creative period. In 1985, the College of Applied Arts3 announced, for the first time, a course in design management. I felt it was my thing. After graduating, I was appointed to the position of commercial director. Being a technical-minded person, I practically had to learn how to convey emotions and not only talk about facts.

What modifications did the regime change bring into the life of the furniture factory?

Thanks to an export partner, we privatised the upholstery division of Kanizsa Furniture Factory, and from then on until my retirement, I practically ran Kanizsa Trend, which had grown into one of the best upholstered furniture factories in the country.

What are you particularly proud of in your professional life?

Most of all, that the 450 people who worked in this company were all my friends. We were able to work in a familial atmosphere, and I was able to motivate them. The other thing I can be proud of is that we managed to build the brand Andante, and by 2004, 64% of our target market was aware of and consciously looked for our products in the shops.

What does Fabunio mean in the professional scene? What values does it represent and what added value does it bring to its members and to the trade?

I came into contact with the Association itself roughly in 2004 or 2005, although the German owner did not take kindly to it. At that time, there were very strong large corporations that were members of the Furniture Association, and, after a lot of persuasion, I also joined the Association with Kanizsa Trend. It had a good social atmosphere, and it meant relaxed, cheerful company , even though market conditions were very volatile. And I must say, I made friends there.

I came into contact with the Association itself roughly in 2004 or 2005, although the German owner did not take kindly to it. At that time, there were very strong large corporations that were members of the Furniture Association, and, after a lot of persuasion, I also joined the Association with Kanizsa Trend. It had a good social atmosphere, and it meant relaxed, cheerful company , even though market conditions were very volatile. And I must say, I made friends there. 

I took over the presidency in 2010 and have been president ever since. Our great achievement last year was that the Joiners' Association and the Furniture Association decided in favour of joining forces in order to have a united voice for this tiny industry in Hungary. This process has started, and it will be completed around July or August this year, when the merger is registered by the court of justice.

Why is this merger important?

In the process, we came up with a new name, which carries the affiliation, as well as the abbreviation for wood and furniture, which alone reveals a lot. It's good because you can sit down at a table with professional peers without a competitive atmosphere to talk, or find opportunities that can help you develop your own market, or gather know-how that is not really available elsewhere, unless you buy it at a hefty price. Fabunio is all that. A community of interested, open-minded people.

Another aspect is that we have managed to identify four main sectors, given our limited energy and financial resources: one is to educate young people, the second is to transfer knowledge, the third is to promote design thinking, and the fourth is to engage in market lobbying.

We hold popular conferences, we actively participate in exhibitions, the ministries listen to us and seek our opinions.

There is a carpenter/joiner in almost every village, so we cover the whole country with our activities, and we would like to carry on like this for many decades to come.