Quality Inside – Made in Europe
New European exibitors at IWF

It’s the biggest trade fair for supply materials and woodworking machinery in North America: from 22 – 25 August 2018, the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) will take place again in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Always in the even years, the  WMMA (Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America) and the WMIA (Woodworking Machinery Industry Association) host one of the world’s leading trade fairs for furniture production, architectural woodwork and the woodworking industry on 50,000 square meters. The IWF covers the complete range of products and services from raw materials to machines and automation technology to finished products: flooring, electric tools, windows, wood, wooden construction elements, woodworking machinery, wooden components, wood products, material handling systems, furniture, upholstery, cabinets, doors and connecting elements. Machines and accessories can be found in Building B, components and accessories are in Building C. For this year’s edition, about 1,100  exhibitors – of whom about a quarter from USA – are expected again from all over the world.

All well-known producers are represented

Practically all of the well-known producers or their American subsidiaries are represented at the trade fair again in 2018. Some companies have even increased their area significantly: Biesse has expanded its booth this year by about one-third to 27,000 square feet (about 2,500 square meters), the size of the Homag Group.
From Europe are represented for example: manufacturers of fitting and damping systems: Blum (Austria), Grass (Austria), Häfele (Germany), Hettich (Germany), Titus Group (England), Salice (Italy), Samet (Turkey), Vauth-Sagel (Germany), Zimmer (Germany). Manufacturers of adhesives: AkzoNobel (Netherlands), Jowat (Germany), Kleiberit (Germany). Manufacturers of surfaces: Renolit (Germany), Rehau (Germany), Surteco (Germany), Venjakob (Germany). Manufacturers of Tools: Leitz (Germany), Leuco (Germany) and the machine manufacturers Biesse (Italy), Bürkle (Germany), Dieffenbacher (Germany), Cefla (Italy), Felder Group (Austria), Hymmen (Germany), Ima (Germany), Robatech (Switzerland), SCM (Italy), Siempelkamp (Germany), Weinig/Holz-her (Germany) and Vits Technology (Germany). Homag (Germany) is represented by Stiles (USA). The trade fair booth also includes the brands Heesemann (Germany), Venjakob (Germany) and Makor (Italy).
219 new exhibitors will be at the trade fair for the first time this year, according to the fair including companies such as Awuko Abrasives Wandmacher (Germany), manufacturer of abrasives, the manufacturer of fitting systems Kessebohmer USA (Germany), and the manufacturer of films, high-tech synthetics and artificial leather, Continental (formerly Konrad Hornschuch, Germany).
Schattdecor (Germany) is also celebrating its premiere this year with a 110 square meter stand directly at the trade fair. Previously, the upper Bavarians were only represented with a small information booth at the trade fair, refer to their exhibition in a hotel near the exhibition. Not on but close to the IWF: the decor specialist Interprint (Germany) presents its products on 22 and 23 August at Aloft Atlanta Downtown.

Bigger again

In 2016, the IWF was able to grow for the third time in a row. All together, the 1,079 exhibitors counted 17,125 visitors. Only 1,837 came from outside USA, of whom 259 from Europe. Slowly, the fair seems to be recovering. For comparison, before the crisis in 2008, there were still 1,324 exhibitors and an area of 75,500 square meters and 35,000 visitors.

Many events

Once again this year, there will be a comprehensive range of fringe events at the trade fair. An exhibition will show the finalists for the “IWF Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award”. The award, which is known all over the world, honours companies that have “distinguished themselves by developing innovative technology in products, services, or manufacturing techniques that will advance the industry”.

Challengers Award

A panel of 10 distinguished judges has tested and analysed each entry. The finalists will perform live demonstrations for the jury, which will then make the final decision about the most innovative product development. The finalists will be on exhibit in the Challengers Award Gallery for the entire duration of the trade fair. The winners of the awards for 2018 will be announced on Wednesday, 22 August, at 11:00 in the overlook area on the second level in Building B. Among the winners of the last fair were: Bacci (CNC Router for Shaping & Sanding Cabinets Doors Outside Profile), Biesse (Viet Robotic sanding of cross grain scratching and Mdf, wood or painted doors), Holz-Her (Ltronic) and Salice (Salice Air).

“Product Showcase”

The new Product Showcase is an area in which the visitors get an overview of the latest developments since the IWF 2016. It can be found on the exhibition hall level in Building B. IWF will be offering two pavilions that are industry and technology specific to help centrally locate certain points of interest. These pavilions will be located in the Building C Exhibit Hall: Cabinetry, Closets & Storage and Decorative Surfaces: Digital Print, Countertops, Flooring.

IWF Education Conference

The IWF Education Conference offers a broad range of industry-related topics during the trade fair. Eleven full-day symposiums on various topics (Closets, Powder Coating Wood, CNC, Lean, Countertops & Architectural Surfaces, Leadership Forum, Digital Printing, Engineering Surfacing Products, Expanding Your Business to the U.S., Wood Flooring, Finishing) will already take place a day before the trade fair begins, on 21 August. leo


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