Møbeltre

A love affair with SCM born among the fjords

Håvar Tandstad, an industrial entrepreneur, has been using SCM Group machines exclusively for 16 years and was one of the first buyers of the Morbidelli Author M100: "This machine meets my needs for flexible production and for saving time and space." His company, which also produces packing boxes for refugee tents, is in constant expansion.

Håvar Tandstad, who is the owner of Møbeltre AS, founded his company 16 years ago in Straumgjerde, a village north-west of Oslo, where the lake Fitjavatnet empties into the Sykkylvsfjorden. 

Møbeltre employs 24 workers, on average, and produces furniture components for  Norwegian companies whose products are hugely successful.

Håvar Tandstad, therefore, knows full well the market dynamics. Specifically, he has witnessed the clear trend that has emerged in recent years among many of his clients: the companies have stayed away from large orders of standardised parts and have increasingly focused on small batches, diversifying production and requiring highly-customised machining. Håvar's approach in this changing market can be summed up in a single word: flexibility.

His company must be able to produce in very short times small batches that change often, even daily. To address this issue he must rely on latest-generation technology; that is why the Norwegian entrepreneur has always used SCM Group products.

As Håvar well explains: "We are being asked to produce ever more customised products, and delivery times are getting shorter. Our company provides high quality products, and it cannot be any other way given the high cost of labour in Norway. Low quality products are imported by Norwegian companies from abroad. We maintain a one-to-one relationships with our clients, each has his own specific requirements and we are able to fully fulfil them with our products."

Møbeltre works mainly with MDF Plywood (and MDF) panels, as well as Glulam (from glued and laminated), glued pine wood that is as strong as solid wood. What is actually produced are parts for high-quality chairs, exported in a wood container, itself a high-quality product.

In recent years, Håvar Tandstad has focused also on a special product for which there has been a surge in orders. Indeed, Møbeltre now produces plywood boxes for packing refugee tents. As Håvar says: "When you see on television refugee camps springing up all across Europe, you should know that part of what you see comes from my company."

By the way, the plywood used for these boxes is imported from the Ukraine, and also in this case the difficult international situation has caused its price to go up.

Besides woodworking, Møbeltre produces a few plastic parts for various companies that request them.

Håvar does not export his products directly but supplies them to companies that focus mainly on exports, especially to other Scandinavian countries, Germany, the United States, Japan and China.

Møbeltre (Norvegia)