IWF Exceeds Expectations

The International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair-USA® opened its doors on August 20th, 2008 to an industry looking for answers to manufacturing and economic challenges.

“It’s tough out there and we all know it but even during difficult times a show like IWF can find a way to turn a negative into a positive and propel the industry into new chartered waters for economic growth, stability and expansion,” commented Charles R. (Tommy) Tomkins, IWF 2008 Chairman.

The 2008 show didn’t set records for attendance but it didn’t disappoint as millions of dollars of machinery, supplies and services were purchased at the 2008 Fair and millions more will be purchased in the next 6 months.

Buyers came from eighty countries and all fifty states determined to find solutions for their business and manufacturing process. With 1,324 exhibiting companies and over 813,000 net square feet of exhibits, the International Woodworking Fair ranks #2 in the industry world-wide and is the largest show for the industry in the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere.

“WMMA members came into this year’s show with the mindset, to sell machinery, create opportunities and lay the groundwork for future sales. The buyers that came to this year’s show were serious, prepared and ready to purchase products from IWF exhibitors. IWF gave our members the opportunity to not only do business with buyers from the United States but also very qualified international buyers,” added Ken Hutton, Executive Vice President of the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America.

“Our members came in with conservative expectations for sales and quality of buyers. The buyers that came to this year’s show were serious, qualified and exceeded our members expectations in terms of sales and qualified leads,” commented Bill Miller, Executive Vice President of the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association.

“We are still going through the attendance verification process. We know our registration numbers were down compared to our 2006 show which was one of our best attended shows in our history. Initial counts indicate IWF 2008 had 18,992 buyers, 39,893 total visitors, 1,324 exhibitors and 813,521 net square feet of exhibit space. But IWF 2008 didn’t disappoint in terms of quality buyers. From a qualified buyer and prospects standpoint IWF 2008 could prove to be one of the best ever,” said Patrick LaFramboise, President & CEO of IWF 2008.

The first ever technical conference directed to individuals who cut plastics was well attended with 125 participants. Speakers discussed the importance of proper tooling and specific machinery options necessary for achieving a quality edge finish on both hard and soft plastic materials. Speakers also provided an overview of the use of advanced materials in architectural applications utilizing CNC technology and presented a recent case study from Georgia Institute of Technology’s Advanced Wood Products Lab. It reviewed the challenges encountered machining a solid surface (resin polymer) part with regards to surface and edge quality, machining time and structural failure. Strategies for overcoming them via tooling choice, CAM programming and order of machining operations were presented.

For more information, contact Jim Wulfekuhle, The International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair - U.S.A.®, 3520 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 350, Atlanta, GA 30305, 404-693-8333, Fax: 404-693-8350, E-mail: jamesw@iwfatlanta.com, Web: www.iwfatlanta.com.