The cheapest handles

Production that is based on cheap labour costs, which favours the lack of fundamental human rights, and in a highly polluting industry where cheap furniture handles and accessories are made, of course.

We are well aware of it. In fact, Navarro Azorín had part of its production process in China for a while. During that period of time, having seen the idiosyncrasy of these production systems and the gradual fall in the quality of our products, we realised that we had to abandon the adventure and go back to carrying out 100% of our production process at our facilities in Yecla.

Nevertheless, a lot of the handle brands only have Asian manufacturer suppliers. Many Spanish, Italian or Danish handle companies sell their own designs even though they are produced in Asian countries.

From a bird’s eye view, and in a wider context, we could never have been happier for having made that decision.

The Asian countries, as their prosperity develops, will consume massive amounts of coal at least up until 2030. Their weak policies on the development of other sources of energy or on reducing carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning coal make this problem the biggest obstacle to consolidating a global agreement on climate change.

Asia has been responsible for more than two thirds of the growth in the world’s energy demand in the last 20 years and this demand was and continues to be satisfied by coal.

More than 80% of the electricity in China comes from power stations that run on fossil fuels. The burning of coal is a major cause of the serious air pollution, the contamination of water and the deterioration of soil that affects certain parts of Asia.

On the contrary, in Europe, the coal mines were shut down at the end of 2018 and the agreement now is that in a few years absolutely no coal whatsoever will be consumed to produce electricity.

At Navarro Azorín, our whole plant runs on electricity and propane gas. We make the most of the latest developments for our own waste management and recycling plant.

All the water used in our production process (which is a lot) goes through our water treatment plant so that it is perfect to be used as irrigation water for agricultural crops consumed by humans.

The low wages, one of the big incentives of China’s competitiveness are, however, increasing.

Now, the relocation of Chinese companies is quite evident and the problem of a Chinese labour market that demands more rights has resulted in the manufacturing businesses being exiled to other countries with lower labour costs and therefore, fewer rights for the workers, such as Vietnam, Thailand or the Philippines.

At Navarro Azorín, our most important asset and main reason for our success is the human capital. More than 50 families from our town are directly involved in the future of our company and their well-being is fundamental for us.

What is more, we make accessories to enhance the furniture of some of the most prestigious furniture manufacturers in the world.

We do it well, respecting people and the environment and we are proud of it.