Suggestions have been voiced in favor of setting up a major furniture industry cluster in the Belarusian town of Smorgon. The idea was discussed during the investment opportunities forum in Smorgon on 3 December, BelTA learned from Lyudmila Syrnikova, Director for Sales of the Belarusian company IOOO Kronospan. Kronospan, the free economic zone Grodnoinvest and the Smorgon District administration have organized a forum to discuss the establishment of a furniture cluster in the town. About 100 representatives of small and medium businesses from Belarus, Poland, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, the timber, woodworking, pulp and paper industry concern Bellesbumprom, the Belarusian Economy Ministry, the free economic zone Grodnoinvest and the administration of Smorgon District and Grodno Oblast turned up to discuss prospects of furniture industry in the Belarusian town. The program included a presentation of investment sites, products, a roundtable session on enabling a favorable environment for making furniture and its components. The forum is supposed to result in preliminary agreements and decisions that will become the foundation of the concept for organizing the furniture cluster in Smorgon. The conditions conducive to the establishment of the furniture cluster in Smorgon include the location of the Kronospan enterprise in the town. The enterprise manufactures particleboards and floor materials. It can provide materials to furniture makers. A land plot in Smorgon is now part of the free economic zone Grodnoinvest. The availability of raw materials, tax and customs incentives and Kronospan's eagerness to contribute to manufacturing cooperation between participants of the furniture cluster create a favorable environment for developing competitive production of furniture and its components. Investors will be able to get affordable raw materials and minimize the cost of transporting these materials. The raw materials manufacturer is also ready to provide consulting services and other kinds of support. Kronospan representatives explained that the concept for setting up a woodworking and furniture cluster is based on the company's smart specialization strategy. A similar cluster-based approach is successfully used by the company in the Polish town of Szczecinek. IOOO Kronospan's residency in the free economic zone Grodnoinvest is being decided on. The final round of talks is in progress. Kronospan is a transnational corporation originating in Austria. It specializes in woodworking and has manufacturing sites in over 20 countries across the globe. Kronospan's operation in Belarus began with an investment project in Smorgon in 2011. In 2012 the Kronospan enterprise in Smorgon started manufacturing particleboards with the output capacity as large as 750,000m3 per annum. In 2013 the enterprise commissioned a line to make medium-density fiberboards, with the annual output capacity at 250,000m3. The enterprise also operates five lamination lines, with their total output capacity at 40 million m2 per annum. In 2013 Kronospan went to set up another enterprise in Belarus — IOOO Kronospan OSB in the free economic zone Mogilev. The enterprise can make 600,000m3 of oriented strand boards per annum. Kronospan has invested a total of €630 million in its operation in Belarus and has created about 1,000 jobs.