TIMB3R Design Incubator Programme Returns To Give  Local Designers - And Their Woodworks - Global Recognition

Kuala Lumpur 24th November 2021 – The TIMB3R Design Incubator Programme (DIP) kicked-off its second instalment today, this time anchored by collaborations between 13 local designers and 15 manufacturers.

Driven to grow the nation’s timber and furniture industry on a global scale, TIMB3R DIP will see the participants working together to conceptualise, design and create unique, high-value Malaysian-made timber and furniture products for the international market. This will culminate in an Export Furniture Exhibition (EFE) showcase in 2023.

Officiating the launch held at Mandarin Oriental today was the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), YB Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin. Commending the initiative, she revealed, “The furniture export has consistently contributed between 0.6% and 0.8% to the national GDP in the last five years. Despite the pandemic, Malaysia’s furniture industry had chalked up commendable sales and our wooden furniture exports are forecasted to rake in more than RM12.5 billion from the RM10.6 billion recorded in 2020.”

Also on the agenda of the day was the Hackathon, a matching process that connected each designer with a manufacturer that best complemented their design concept. A total of 15 designer-manufacturer pairings were established. One product—ranging from furniture, building materials, lightings and decorative items—will be delivered by each pair by the end of the six-month process.

The Chairperson of the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC), Hajah Norrida Yusoff, added, “Last year’s TIMB3R DIP resulted in the development of 14 products such as bedroom and living room furniture, deck tiles and breastfeeding pods—all of which will be presented at the Export Furniture Exhibition (EFE) 2022 coming up this March in KLCC. This year, we are excited to see what else the new batch of designers and manufacturers will bring to the wooden plate.”

The programme, which began in 2020, is jointly organised by MTC, Malaysian Furniture Council (MFC) and Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID). It is also supported by the Malaysian Wood Moulding and Joinery Council (MWMMJC) and the Association of Bumiputera Timber and Furniture Manufacturers of Malaysia (PEKA).

An annual initiative to grow Malaysia’s timber and furniture industry