27/10/2026
How can a cluster give its SMEs access to research and testing facilities they could never afford on their own?
The Centre of Excellence for Furniture (CEM), developed by the Cluster Mobilier Transilvan (Transylvanian Furniture Cluster) in Romania, is one answer. It is now featured in the ECCP Cluster Solutions Library, part of the new Cluster Good Practices section.
What it offers furniture companies:
🏗️ 4,000 m² of shared innovation infrastructure
🔬 Eight specialised laboratories and a Future Factory for prototyping, testing and pre-production
💻 Three digital solutions: a marketplace, a virtual showroom and a virtual trade fair platform using VR, AR and MR
It was a €12 million investment, with half co-financed privately by the cluster and its partner companies.
Three lessons for cluster managers:
🤝 Secure industry commitment early by involving companies in the design phase
🎯 Design facilities around concrete business needs, from testing to digitalisation
💶 Plan for realistic co-financing, because shared infrastructure needs long-term commitment from partners
👉 Read the full good practice: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/content/centre-excellence-furniture
💡 Have a good practice to share? Submit it here: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ECCP_good_practice
EU Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship & SMEs European Clusters Alliance
