Modern wood and furniture testing centre opens in Kumasi

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has officially commissioned an ultra-modern Wood and Furniture Testing Centre at Fumesua in the Ashanti Region.

The Centre, established with funds from the Government of Switzerland through the Trade Capacity Building (TCB) Programme for Ghana, is situated at the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

According to a UNIDO statement, the Centre will ensure trade facilitation and support government’s effort in promoting industrialisation across all sectors. “Wood and furniture products from Ghana and those imported can now be tested to ensure they meet the required trade standards for consumer use and protection,” said UNIDO.

Also, entrepreneurs in the wood industry can now conduct tests to determine the strength of the materials used in producing wood products including the bonding quality of plywood to ensure durable wood products in the Ghanaian and global market.

The Centre can also test chairs and tables for their durability, stability and strength. These tests determine the lifespan of wooden products and their ability to perform the functions for which they are designed.

The Wood and Furniture Testing Centre (WFTC) is the first of its kind in the West African sub-region and the third in Africa, following Egypt and South Africa.

According to UNIDO Country Representative to Ghana, Mr. Fakhruddin Azizi, “The UNIDO-SECO partnership has given fruitful results in Ghana and the TCB Programme is truly a flagship example of confidence and trust between strategic partners.”

Thus, he encouraged the management of CSIR-FORIG to effectively manage the wood and furniture facility to achieve sustainability and ensure that it creates the positive lasting impact for the wood and furniture sector in Ghana and in the global market space.

Representing the Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana, Mr. Daniel Lauchenauer, emphasised the important contribution the new centre can provide towards higher international competitiveness of Ghana’s wood and furniture sector.

The TCB Programme aims at ensuring that goods and services emanating from or traded in Ghana are designed, manufactured and supplied in a sustainable manner that conforms to market requirements as well as those of the regulatory authorities in the local and in the export markets. The Project is focused on four main value chains – cocoa, fish, fruits and wood.