Interview with Florin Căpraru – Production Director, CB Furniture Producție Bacău

Danibrum: Hello, and thank you for having us!

Florin C.: Hello, welcome to our facility. I am Florin Căpraru and I coordinate the production activity of CB Furniture Producție.

D: When did you first come into contact with this industry?

F.C.: My first contact with furniture was in 1999, and I have been in love with this product ever since, to this day.

D: What does a working day look like at CB Furniture Producție?

F.C.: The production working day starts at 06:00, when my colleagues receive the cutting plans on a USB stick. The resulting parts are sent to edge banding, and from there they move along the line to the drilling centers and then on to packing.

My working day actually starts with the orders needed for deliveries for the 2nd or 3rd day. Calculating the material requirements, ordering materials, everything related to organizing a production flow from morning until evening. 

D: How many people work in production?

F.C: În producție lucrează zi de zi, 15 oameni din care 8 oameni lucrează doar pe utilaj. La centrele de găurit avem 2 schimburi. Primul schimb începe la 6, iar al 2-lea schimb începe la ora 13 până seara la 22.

D: What is your production capacity?

F.C.: Currently, our production capacity is 240–260 packages per day. In terms of chipboard sheets, we process between 80 and 90 sheets per day, with approximately 1,300 meters of edge banding. As for the number of holes, we have never counted them.

D: When did you purchase the machines from us?

F.C.: We purchased the machines from Danibrum 2 years ago, and the beginning was rather clumsy. In the first two to three months we designed products, ran tests and made several attempts. It took at least 3 months before it was actually integrated into the production line, until my colleagues learned the machines and the controls of each one. Since then, every day we have been learning how to increase output with the same machines, within a single 8-hour shift. Where we used to cut 40 sheets a day at first, today we reach 80–90 sheets a day.

If at first we hoped to be able to sell, there were times when all our colleagues from our warehouses in the country called continuously – “I want furniture”. We were unable to cope. A 2nd drilling center was automatically required, especially since at this moment, when production volumes have increased, it is possible that we will also require a 3rd drilling center and a 2nd automatic edge banding machine. It is natural. If the orders started flowing, we will increase our team.

If at first I didn't know much about the actual product, in the 2 years I saw how they work. I tested them on several speeds, on several options and I saw how we could optimize. Today I don't know if we are at the maximum capacity of the machines, but I am very pleased with how they work. I have had absolutely no fatal errors on any machine that would keep us out of production for a few days, something I hear from other fellow manufacturers. The machines run every day, without weekends, they run 8 hours a day, and for that we thank the machines with half an hour of daily maintenance. Each piece of equipment is cleaned, blown with grease-free air all around, prepared so that the 2nd morning it is ready to work cleanly.

D: Did you know about Danibrum before the purchase?

F.C.: I had known about DANIBRUM for several years. Together with CB Furniture, we took part as exhibitors in several editions of the BIFE-SIM furniture fair. There, during the breaks, being a machinery enthusiast, I would very often visit the machinery stands, and that is where I met Mr. Soroceanu, the engineer, Mr. Vatavu, the general director, and others.

I contacted them without knowing that in two or three years we would be partners. From the beginning we went with a single supplier. We knew from the beginning that we would go and purchase from them. We didn't know what products we needed, what our needs were, we didn't know what capacities we would be able to support, but we had support and advice from them from the beginning, which is why today we have functional, maintained equipment ready to work at any time.

D: How did the purchasing process go?

F.C.: From the moment I ordered a product, I was kept informed at every step about the delivery date and timing, and I had their support so that the machines could be put into operation as soon as we received them. We benefited from training provided by them, so that my colleagues would know exactly what the product is about and could use it at full capacity.

From the very beginning, I had a direct relationship with the technicians at Danibrum. The guys from the service department, in the context of an error, would receive a response on Whatsapp, in a maximum of 10-15 minutes, and would solve the problem without any trip, without any visit, and I could continue working that day.

The beginning was at a pretty bad time. At first we wondered if we were doing what we were doing right. It was precisely the period when all the prices of raw materials started to explode.

D: What are your plans for the future?

F.C.: Orders have started to come in. At the moment, the space is used at full capacity. We have a hall under construction for storing raw material as well as finished products, right behind the factory.

It will be ready, probably in a month, and if we can't manage it even then, we plan to relocate the production with essentially the same line, but set up differently so that the optimization of production increases on 2 parallel lines. So that we can double production, we have the plans for the future. We'll see what the future brings us. 

D: Thank you for your time, and until next time, we wish you every success!

F.C.: Thank you for visiting. We look forward to welcoming you again.