BOFOR YAT, MOBILYA SANAYI, ITHALAT, IHRACAT VE TICARET AS Turkey

Bofor A. S and BOFOR Cameroon S: A: are Turkish owned corporations well-established in the yacht construction, outdoor furniture, wood proccesing and trading for the last 15 years. It was originally a subsidiary company of Era yachting, one of bodrum s first yacht charter agencies. Outdoor furniture was originally manufactured as part of our boatyard operation, as a complementary facility in the construction and fitting out of wooden yachts. But the furniture production business soon became a successful operation in itself, running alongside the actual boat building and maintenance function. Bofor has become synonymous with stylish top-quality garden and outdoor furniture. The bofor range includes elegant tables and deck-chairs, practical folding chairs and classy armchairs. We produce exclusively in iroko (an African hardwood often used in place of teak) because of its excellent qualities including its resistance to the effects of sun, water and salt. For a couple of years, we have been getting numerous enquiries from outside the Turkish market, but until now, our capacity has been insufficient to supply large quantities of furniture. While researching opportunities to make our production more efficient and cost-effective, we decided to modify our strategy, and instead of importing expensive timber, move our production to where the wood originates. As a result, we established an operation in Cameroon, one of Africa s politically stable and better-organised countries. Cameroon is almost completely covered by tropical forest. As well as popular hardwoods like Iroko, Mahogany, Sapelli / Sapele, Sipo, Bubinga, Padouk, Doussie, Bete, Bibolo ect. There are numerous less well-known, yet equally valuable species, virtually unexploited up until now. Together with our Cameroon partners, we have established Bofor Cameroon corporation, a company based in the country s capital Yaounde, that deals both with producing our furniture, and machining and exporting a wide variety of timber In order to ensure that our high standards are maintained in our furniture production, we have sent our best craftsmen to Cameroon to train local staff. Thanks to low-cost labour and raw materials, we are now able to produce large quantities at very competitive rates without having to make any concessions in the quality. We have established our own sawmill and are able to respond individually to all kinds of enquiries and orders. From June 2006, we are providing kiln-dried timber, in addition to the air-dried timber which we already successfully export.