27 May The AREMA 2022 Annual Award recognises INFO’s collaboration, promotion and support of furniture, timber and related sectors.

CETEM will demonstrate the way in which ‘eHealth Home’ opens a new path towards preventive healthcare, providing new opportunities within the housing sector

During the last day of Yecla Furniture Fair’s 60th edition, the Regional Association of Timber Entrepreneurs (AREMA), granted its 15th annual award to the Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia (INFO). This recognition highlights its close collaboration, constant promotion and support to the furniture, timber and related industries cluster within Murcia.

María del Valle Miguélez, Regional Minister for Enterprise, Employment, Universities and Spokesperson, and INFO President, received the award. She pointed out that both partnerships are working closely together in order to promote the regional furniture market.

This cluster provides around 8,000 direct jobs within the regional sector, in addition to every indirect job that is created, for example, by selling fabrics or lighting, housing part of integral projects.

This is illustrated by a 25% increase in export performance, together with our focus on contract and strategies that improve company production capacity within the sector. As FMY’s Executive Committee President, Remedios Lajara, pointed out, “INFO helped us, it provided us everything we needed so that our Furniture Fair could take an essential turn towards internationalisation and the world of contract”.

New business channels and production capacity of exhibitor brands

It is worth highlighting some of the key actions carried out by INFO, such as the reverse trade missions that take place during the trade fair. During these four days, exhibitor brands held business meetings with delegations from Morocco, Egypt and Algeria.

In addition, through FMY’s virtual platform, attending exhibitor brands will hold virtual meetings with European and North African clients over the next two months.

‘eHealth Home – a new platform of active and healthy ageing’.

Appropriate use of emerging technologies in favour to active and healthy ageing has also been the main focus of this day. A round table was organised by CETEM to discuss emerging technologies for health care.

Indeed, as has been highlighted, the correct use of these technologies not only generates a positive impact for those who use them (elderly people, relatives, carers), but also for society in general: digital solutions will allow patients to stay at home for longer through remote monitoring and healthcare facilities will focus on wherever intensive care is required.

Attending this discussion were the vice-president and councillor for Women, Equality, LGTBI, Families, Social Policy and Transparency, María Isabel Franco; Murcia Health Service (SMS) manager, Francisco José Ponce, and SMS Innovation director, Gorka Sánchez, together with the Polytechnic University of Cartagena’s professor of Telecommunications Networks Engineering Group, María Victoria Bueno, and José Francisco Puche, as CETEM’s director.

Exhibiting firms create a world of contract projects

During these four days, the professional public was able to learn about the latest sector innovations and discover the way in which the highly specialised Murcia’s furniture cluster continues to conquer national and international markets.

FMY’s commitment, together with its partnerships, contributes to our product and service consolidation, both in small and large furnishings. Among others, we are talking about spaces such as embassies, hotels, banks, official buildings, premises, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes.

In short, the housing brand has had its reference point withing FMY and the Murcian furniture cluster this week, as evidenced by the more than 600 million euros generated by the Region, almost 10% of the total national figure regarding turnover in national furniture industry, especially in upholstered furniture.

Starting at 6.00 p.m., the 60th edition of the event will close its doors this Thursday with the official closing ceremony by FMY’s Executive Committee President and Yecla’s Mayoress, Remedios Lajara. FMY concludes after several busy and active days that placed value on the event’s “soul”, our exhibitors’ quality and service, and the meeting place that the furniture cluster of the Region of Murcia creates for the sector.