LAHORE Aug 20 ( INP ) A high level delegation of the United States furniture manufacturers comprising Bilal Saglam and Ms Gizem Cigdem from the US leading furniture brand Ashley Furniture Industries will arrive here Monday to explore mutual investment in the furniture industry. The delegation will be received by Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Mian Kashif Ashfaq and PFC Secretary Hamid Mahmood. Later, a grandeur reception will be hosted by PFC in honour of visiting delegation where business to business meetings with Pak furniture manufacturers will also be held and broad based discussion about the extension of possible mutual investment besides exchanging of expertise, latest technology and techniques of innovation being used in furniture industry was also held in a very amicable business environment. Ashley furniture is one of the largest industries across the globe and to enhance Ashley’s ability to fulfill emerging demand in furniture industry, speed to market approach will be adopted by extending cooperation with foreign furniture manufacturers and visit to Pakistan is also a step taken in this direction. They will ink Memorandum of Understanding with ChenOne which serves as an example to our commitment to customers across the globe. “As the demand for faster deliveries of product is becoming more frequent in today’s market, this expansion allows our company to have additional space to service our customer base in a timelier fashion,” he added. The purpose of visit is to study in-depth assessment of local furniture industry, technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory landscape, deployment models, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. Globally, Ashley supplies furniture to more than 6,000 retail partners in 123 countries, delivering more than 30 million pieces every year. PFC Chief Mian Kashif Ashfaq said that furniture with calligraphic engraving had great demand in local and international markets, which seemed to be dominant trend in Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistani craftsmen should focus on working in this particular area to earn the much-needed foreign exchange. In this regard, he appreciated the PFC role in bringing the latest technical know-how in Pakistan to develop local furniture industry for manufacturing quality products, competitive in the international market. He further said that the council was planning a strategy to enhance exports and this sector could touch more than $850 million export target by the year-end if training centre are opened in the country for imparting modern skills. Exports to Italy, France, the US made around 55 percent of total exports, he added. INP/AH