A strategic model for selecting the location of furniture factories: a case of the study of furniture

Selecting the best place for a factory among some proposed locations based on various indices is a decision-making multi-criteria issue. This issue is one of the most critical steps in establishing the factory since the results of this decision will have economically, socially, environmentally and technologically significant effects in the long-run. Selecting the most appropriate provinces for establishing new manufacturing units of wooden furniture in Iran is the purpose of this study. Effective indicators in the location of the furniture industry were identified and a hierarchy was constructed based on five major groups of criteria. The weight of the indicators was then established by analytical hierarchy process. The amounts of the indicators with regard to alternatives were obtained from factories in public and private sectors. These weights were employed in TOPSIS to rank the alternatives. Finally, the potential provinces were identified according to the priorities obtained by this technique. The results indicated that Qom, Tehran and Razavi Khorasan provinces were the best priorities for establishing furniture industry plants.