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Concept note open for further discussion.

Impact furniture manufacturing COE is the temporary name to refer the planned merging
companies 1, Salma furniture plc 2, bamlak furniture and 3. Haymanot wood works.

Devising innovative solutions for immediate problems – a silver bullet.

Ethiopia is now-a- days found in a state of continuous changes and in demand of huge number of
trained labor force in the furniture manufacturing sector. Salma Furniture, with support of GIZ
developpp – one of the three merging part of impact furniture - has accumulated years of vast
experience and training resources contributing its lion share in providing free on- job trainings of the
unskilled job seekers in to semi-skilled machine operators and facilitation of hiring these labor force
into the wider furniture industry where there is huge void and strives to bring about and lead the
development agenda through capacity building in the sector. We found that the best way to fill the gap
of manufacturing skill in the sector with DOMINO EFFECT is through the already existing TVTE
structures being re- structured.

OBJECTIVES TVTE centers. 1, technology transfer using TVTE for sector with the resource they
require and make them industry leaders, with the end goal in order to make great IMPACT in the
industry’s efficiency. 2, change the trend to save the ecosystem utilizing eucalyptus as main raw
material otherwise undesirable but abundant raw material for sustainable eco system and industry
future, 3,Import substitution - applying best industry practice with several large scale high quality
product part manufacturing plants for facilitating for small industries filling the market gap with
quality products through mass competition which causes deflation on product prices which results in
EXPOT. The manufacturing system and the training centers are being prepared with the import
substitution of major products in mind but with better quality and durability.

4, progressive job creation on B-2-B basis, help create and make small businesses job simple and
stupid/focus and do what they know best / supplying them with quality machined product within the
budget to win the market -grow and create further job opportunities.

5, setting -up first of its kind machinery maintenance and fabrication hub, TVTE centers nationwide
have several hundreds of machines but 3out of ten machines are non-runners ! In one of the most
regarded and probably the oldest Tevet school probably 15 out of 150 machines are functional! this is
industry wide problems that there is no woodworking plant/machinery maintenance firm in the country
other than ours.

6, Afforestation programs is the next target and goals of the project ahead in form of ppp in co-
operation with giz develop ppp and under ministry of labor and job creation with federal TVTE .

satellite production /training centers.

As the new government direction forging ppp with private sectors of high relevance in different sectors,
we become the favorites and requested to take on federal TVET centers with One of the objectives to
facilitating training and mainly manufacturing development program within the TVTE centers. With
making TVET centers , manufacturing centers as core purpose , the minister for labor and job creation,
Muferiyat Kamil, who is personally chasing the progress of the ppp ,after visiting Salma and bamlak
furniture , become exceptionally interested with our mass production capacity for b-2-b chair parts
provision plan and want it to be implemented as the main activity of the partnership TVET centers as
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she strongly believes it would make great impact in large no of job creation. AS The center co-
operates with GIZ and upgrades Salma’s resources merging with much bigger two sister companies to
become Africa’s biggest practical TVTE teacher’s up skilling training /manufacturing hub in furniture
manufacturing sector . the hub or the main center will also support restructuring several selected
satellite TVET centers to become specialist product and parts manufacturing /training centers with B-2-
B between the TVTE centers in mind. The satellite TVET centers will be restructured to be specialized
component. Part and semi processed materials manufacturing centers based on the resources of their
location. for instance, the TVET center in yirgalem,sidama ,due to its abundant timber resources , could
be specialized training /manufacturing college of chair making . apart chair making, it also mass
manufacture different types of interchangeable chair parts to be supplied to other TVET centers . for its
local/regional market it may receive ready to assemble sheet material cabinet parts cut,
trimmed ,drilled, edge banded from another partner tvte centre elsewhere specialized in cabinet
making. Since these specialized training/manufacturing centers are equipped with only few but high
productivity machines, the overall cost of machines and equipment comparing to ”do it all” type of
factory set-up cost much lower and the skill level required to run the machines is much lower but has
potential for high no of trainee/workers who could be paid while being trained . this model is so
profitable that centers could sustainably support the local economy and ecosystem for their sustainable
future. This is the first of its kind B-2-B model in the country. As you know in Europe and north
America, say a small sofa manufacturing family run firm at the back of his/her garage could produce
much better sofa set than big firms and the reason for that is mainly she /he could choose and order
wooden parts such as quality legs and handrests over the internet and will have it delivered next day on
his/her door steps . B-2-B and functional supply chain management system plays the key role for the
country economy.

As you well know, In developed economy one doesn’t has to be good or resource rich for making any
product. but here in Ethiopia, there is no single part manufacturer who is capable or willing to sell you
the part you need at all ! to survive in the furniture trade computation ,SMEs need to know how and
have the resource to produce an item from A-z . that is why despite 3 decade of government effort and
support with several incentives and soft loan provision ,the SMEs in Ethiopia are still a failure. the UKs
over 70 % of revenue comes from small businesses.

As its 2nd B-2-B objective, apart from its own ITER _CENTERS B-2-B structure, It also continue
supporting local small businesses with provision of machined /ready to assemble furniture parts for
them to just assemble and sand finish using hand tools at their backyard .

The first of its kind B_2-B with several hundreds of small businesses using online ordering , payment
and both collection and delivery options /using well organized supply chain management system .
having GIZ develop ppp on the helm, this is not too difficult to achieve as the merged Impact furniture
has already made ready solid wooden curves and turned wooden parts mass manufacturing plants for
the purpose.

IMPACT Furniture in partnership with giz will maximize current Salma furniture’s’ performance to
achieve its long-term objectives of being the biggest and best solid wooden furniture
manufacturing/training centre in Africa which uses local raw materials from most sustainable and
abundant sources to make holistic impact in the sector and the country’s economy which benefit
several thousands of families directly and indirectly
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The above objective is not just an assumption . Its rather a statistics based on our own past and on-
going performances in smaller scale at Salma furniture plc.

With 10 times additional more capacity in industrial modern manufacturing machineries, and resources

With 10 times more support from our long standing and determined partner- GIZ

With our determined team of skillful people who gained the required experience of both training,
manufacturing and machinery maintenance.

and with full engagement and rather determined government ministry as the main partner, with its
resources ,despite all its challenges , the above GOAL is simply deliverable.

Training/manufacturing resources - manpower

IMPACT Furniture will have minimum capacity and resources to provide for 300 trainees per each
training session(3monthes /machine) during its first year and over 500 the second year as more trainees
particularly tvte teachers,become trainers. initially using its already trained trainers of 150
production workforce as practical training providers most of whom with experience of providing
trainings in manufacturing environment for people of different levels of skill and understanding
ranging from street youths to TEVET teachers of different colleges in A.A.

A typical training session takes from one month for people in finish-sanding department to three
months for each machine on production machine operatives. after completion of initial basic operator
training, best performing trainees then may will be recruited and enrolled for further advanced training
in order to be able assistant trainers/production operators in one of TVET ‘s manufacturing and training
facilities throughout the country. With the support and co-operation of GIZ develop ppp, we could be
able to further extensively train trainers of TVTE centers manufacturing on specialist machines where
they destine to efficiently use and provide employment to their local youths while training. apart from
their existing status ‘trainers’ will be certified and licensed by the main centre to safely and efficiently
operate ,set up and maintain from individual machinery to the machines of the entire system . the main
centre makes sure that the certified candidate practically capable enough to take the desired role in
manufacturing environment -which is in most cases another tvte centre.

Training/manufacturing resources- machinery

Salma furniture, bamlak furniture and Haymanot wood works (impact furniture) not only the biggest in
the country if not in sub-continent in no of machines but quality and sizes too . All west European made
industrial mass manufacturing machineries capable of running 3shifts a day /24/7.

Unlike machines found in other leading firms which are used to further process semi-finished imported
raw materials, our Machines were carefully selected and imported with the import substitution in mind
using our own local dense wood from sustainable sources such as pine and mainly ECUILUPTUS !

The machines are also easy to maintain and operate. they are INDUSTRIAL GRADE most designed for
part manufacturing could employ large no of operatives with minimum training means HIGH
EMPLOYMENT opportunity . the model for the industry in part and component manufacturing.

The other factors that determined the choice of our machines is not only for production but machines
for training purposes should be high quality made by reputable manufacturer, withstand possible use
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and abuse of large no of trainees. Touching wrong button, pushing undesirable stock , general misuses
by novias uninformed shift of trainees is expected .

TVTE training manufacturing centers.

Efficient product manufacturing system requires specialist machines designed for the purpose and the
skill to safely operate them. For instance wooden chair manufacturing firms do not use machines used
by cabinet manufacturing firms. for efficient result in quality ,speed and cost . firms use specialist
machines designed for their specialist product manufacturing requirements. As our target is taking the
people with us through B-2-B and we have limited budget,

Itis expensive to make one center equipped with lines of best specialist machines each producing
particular products efficiently. But it is less expensive to make one centre make one or two specialist
product /parts manufacturing centre on the other side it’s much more un wise too expensive purchasing
common machines to do everything every clint asks ‘custom furniture’ using ‘conventional machines ‘
and which requires well experienced machinists who could make most of the products specialist
machineries do very slowly ,poorly and wastefully. 85% of the industry in Ethiopia is filled with these
machines! it has to change!

‘Stupidity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.’

B-2-B among sister satellite centers.

Alongside to the practical training provision, Based on the resources available to them , each satellite
TVTE centers throughout the country will become batch to mass production centers of specific
products, parts, semi -finished raw materials required by other centers while having conventional
general purpose assembly and finishing department for assembling and finish parts it receives from
other sister centers for the orders it receives locally or regionaly.

Each satellite TVTE centers will also invest in large quality product showrooms and sell premier range
of products.

For instance, the TVET center in Somali region will display quality auditorium/theater seat system that
it easily could source the entire parts say from General Wingate centre which may will restructure to
specialize in batch manufacturing of such parts and product.

The centre in adama may showcase, take orders and sell solid curved high quality chairs but parts could
be sourced from its sister TVTE centre in yirglem(sidama), where there are plenty of sustainable
hardwood found cheaper and the center equipped/restructured with mass solid wooden part
manufacturing machines.
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B-2-B small Enterprise

support young small groups, families etc. to take initiative in forming small Enterprise and make a
living out of it -pay taxes lay foundation to substitute Import and possible progression in to Langer
scale taking more people …..

by Introducing the B - 2 - B scheme on YouTube and on Tv. Online interactive training.

The buying public will get educated on methods of making quality furniture such as Joint types that
helps in discission making of purchasing the right furniture etc.

While small Enterprise apart from making product using already promoted and accepted parts. The
center also provides additional Training and Inspirations to Engage into the supply chain clusters of B -
2 - B circle.

Providing practical Training in our manufacturing /training facility on how to assemble our
semifinished parts to make product using simple and inexpensive tools such as clamps,drills etc….
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Making TVTE centers the centre for knowledge transfer.

We should be ashamed as a nation that we are too poor and mean when it comes knowledge
sharing. We are too poor that we don’t know enough. we are too mean that we don’t want to share what
we know the little thing we know! The culture of hiding ’how to ‘know how in every factory
businesses calling it “company secret” and skilled individuals hiding how to from their own fellow
workers . large firms in the sector paying expats in foreign currency not to transfer knowledge but just
to work and leave. the very disappointing culture of private institutes -large and small makes
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER in order to grow the sector remains hopeless.

If capacitated and run right, TVTE centers are the best centre for transfer knowledge and best practices
for the following simple reason

The domino effect - properly practically trained trainer alongside manufacturing, is willing and
capable of providing training for hundreds of young people or students as one of his/her deity and
responsibility as a trainer . hundreds of his/her trainees becoming latter trainer themselves thousands
create hundreds of thousands!! …. The only thing we should facilitate for them is practical training
provision and facilitating them and practice with better technology in industrial manufacturing
atmosphere.

A trainer trained and hardened in strict manufacturing atmosphere and ethics will apply and practice the
same techniques and pass the package to the next generation.

To be continued……………….