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Setting Up MDF Cabinet Production Facility

Setting Up MDF Cabinet Production Facility
Setting Up MDF Cabinet Production Facility

Cabinets are essential pieces of furniture for storing household and office supplies with a high degree of functionality.

Wood and metal were traditionally the main materials used in manufacturing cabinets. Due to their high costs, weight and fragility, however, they were eventually replaced by medium-density fiberboards, which are made by breaking down wood residuals into fibers and combined with wax and a resin binder, forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure.

MDF has many advantages over wood and metal in manufacturing cabinets. For starters, most of its varieties are cheaper than natural wood. Furthermore, they are isotropic, meaning that the properties of MDF are the same because of having no grain. Therefore, there is no tendency to split and the material is consistent in terms of strength, size and flexibility. Their coatings and materials also enable them to be resistant to moisture and fire.

The Persian daily Forsat-e Emrooz recently published a report on establishing an MDF cabinet production facility in Iran and the sector’s investment potential.

According to an expert in the field, the domestic market for MDF cabinets is thriving and demand is on the rise.

“MDF cabinets are used in offices, kitchen and living rooms. All newly-built houses or offices, or those that need renovation, are decorated by MDF products and cabinets,” added Akbar Asadi.

  Investment Requirements

According to Asadi, the main expenses for setting up an MDF cabinet production facility pertain to purchasing a plot of land for establishing the workshop and machinery.

The minimum area required for such a workshop is 100 square meters, as the tools and cutting tables would not fit in any smaller space. It is recommended to find a place outside the city limits or in industrial parks due to the noise created by the production process.

The machineries required consist of electrical tools such as drills, saws, nailer and pneumatic stapler at a cost of about $1,700; manual and automatic cutting tables priced at around $4,400; edge banding machines at about $23,500; and finally a curve-cutting machine with prices hovering around $2,900.

Asadi said three workers are needed to handle the production process and two more are required to set up the cabinets in the customer’s desired location. Moreover, the workshop requires a cabinet designer and a manager.

  Challenges Ahead

Most cabinet producers in Iran face problems getting their hands on quality MDF panels.

“German and Austrian panels have the best quality, but are a rare find, especially considering their high prices and the imports of European panels winding down,” he said.

Asadi noted that the Turkish and Chinese alternatives can be considered, but “their quality is nothing to write home about”.

The expert underlined that MDF panel production in Iran is quite limited and only a handful of companies produce panels in low quantities and of medium quality.

This is while domestically manufactured MDF production machines can be easily obtained in Iran, making MDF panel production a viable investment opportunity in the current market condition.

Asadi declared that success in the cabinet production business is largely tied to having a “creative designer”.

“An innovative designer, with an adequate knowledge of colors and designing and a bit of high taste sensitivity, can attract many customers,” he said.

Asadi emphasized that other than a workshop for producing the cabinets, a shop must be established to showcase the cabinet designs and types. “Seeing the products is much more effective in attracting a potential customer, compared to presenting the designs in a catalogue,” he said.

Financialtribune.com