Bosnian Furniture Producer Goes Digital

Since its establishment in 1995 the furniture producer Ingrat doo has journeyed through different phases of development. A clear development strategy and continuous investment in technology and personnel training have placed the company among the leading producers of furniture for public institutions in the Balkan region. Ingrat furniture is produced with a focus on durability and resource efficiency. Raising environmental awareness of employees, and constant education constitute priorities of the company. As environmentally responsible organization, Ingrat introduced ISO 14001 standards in 2021. The factory is specialized in the manufacturing of school furniture. Product ranges include different models of benches and chairs for classrooms, special seating and tables for school laboratories for subjects like Chemistry, Physics and Biology, seating for amphitheaters/auditoriums and furniture for staff rooms, libraries and restaurants. Ingrat’s production programme also offers different types of cabinets, office furniture, shelf systems, café/bar and catering furniture, mostly for public sector institutions. Today, Ingrat has 84 employees, of which 11 are administrative-technical staff and 73 work in the production plant. Production on a 8,000 m2 plot and includes plants for metal processing and manufacturing of furniture. Elevating its strategy of continuous improvement to process digitalization, the company purchased a new robot system/cell for electrical and laser welding. Through this investment, the company expanded its production capacity, increased its productivity and reached a higher rate of product quality and accuracy. All manual welding was replaced by the high precision robotic welding but without loss of workplaces, as the employees received training in operating robot. That means, the workers assigned to the welding process still carry out their work but under greatly enhanced occupational health and safety conditions! With the investment, the company now meets a wide variety of standards, including:

• Directive 2006/42/EC on machinery
• Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits

The company used the simple LET process, which is a fast-rack access to financing investments by picking pre-approved equipment from a list of eligible technologies. After the successful verification of its investment project, the company received a15% grant cash-back, funded by the European Union.