IWF Attendance Tops 15,000
Attendance at this year's International Woodworking Fair® (IWF) topped 15,000. Industry professionals from top management and production attended IWF this August in Atlanta. This was a significant increase compared to 2010. Also, there were about 8,000 exhibitor representatives in booths that occupied 389,000 square feet.
IWF registrants came from all 50 states and over 60 countries. IWF registrations were up in 45 states compared to the 2010 Fair.
Thousands of companies sent their key decision-makers to see the latest innovations in materials, supplies and services.
“Industry professionals wanted to see what’s new and what’s next for the industry,” said Michael Burdis, IWF 2012 chairman and president of James L. Taylor Manufacturing Company. “The future of the industry was showcased at IWF with over 850 exhibits.”
IWF is the only woodworking show in the United States that verifies, audits and publishes a detailed statement of attendance after the show which is available to the entire industry.
The IWF trade show brings together industry leaders and showcases innovative products, machinery, materials, design and an expanded conference. IWF 2012 was held August 22-25 in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center.
President John B. Henderson and Neil Kuenn, our legal counsel. Neil’s 1st IWF and a very exciting time! |
Like a wizard - Linda is coordinating the various areas that comprise WMIA! |
A visit from Pittsburg State University - Assistant Professor with students and a WMIA scholarship winner – Gabriel Hayes. |
Three WMIA Members Receive 'IWF Challengers Awards'
Three WMIA members won the 'IWF Challengers Awards' at last month's International Woodworking Fair. Giben America, Hafele America and Martin Woodworking Machinery were recognized for advancements in technology.
The Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award® is internationally recognized as one of the industry's highest honors in recognizing advancements in technology, process or significant contributions to environmental improvement in the woodworking industry. It challenges IWF exhibiting companies to develop forward-thinking technology in machinery, materials, supplies, manufacturing techniques, services and safety.
Presented every two years during IWF, the Challengers Award recognizes seven outstanding exhibitors for helping to advance the industry with their innovative products and services. Final judging took place the day before IWF opened and the seven winning companies were presented with the distinctive Challengers Award bronze sculpture on the opening day of IWF. Winners and finalists had 16-foot towers placed in their booths during the show to signify their achievements and make their accomplishments known to IWF buyers.
WoodLINKS RTA Contest Winners Announced
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Students from woodworking technology programs around the country were honored after competing in the WoodLINKS/USA RTA contest in an award ceremony at the IWF show in Atlanta.
Top prize went to a team from Rolla Technical Institute. Team members Zach Ludden, Nikki Look, and Lucas Shelton presented their winning entry called Travolo di Stiles Table. Robert Studdard was teacher for the winning group. Other entries included:
2nd place: Wine Rack Stack, Dale Jackson Career Center
3rd place: Kazumi, Quinter High School
4th place: Universal Light Bulb, Southern Virginia Higher Education Center
5th place: Sub Roza Table, Dale Jackson Career Center
Some $30,000 in prizes were awarded to benefit the woodworking training programs at the participating students’ schools. Prize donors included Custom Service Hardware, FastCap, Graco, Stiles, Tiger Stop, and Valspar.
Industry sponsors who helped pay for students and teachers to travel to the IWF show included Accurate Custom Cabinets, C. R. Onsrud, Inc., Great Lake Woods, IWF 2012, KCD Software, Kerfkore Company, Kremlin Rexson, Inc./Exel North America, Master Magnetics, Inc./Mod‐eez, Modular Systems, Inc., ShopBot Tools, Inc., Stiles, Vortex Tool Company, Woodcraft Supply, LLC and Accurate Technology. |
Zach Ludden, Nikki Look, and Lucas Shelton of Rolla Technical Institute show off their winning WoodLINKS/USA RTA entry called Travolo di Stiles Table.
2nd place: Wine Rack Stack, Dale Jackson Career Center. From left: RTA judge Patrick Molzahn, students Jonathan Hamilton, Josh Stone, Connor Goodson and teacher Joe Davis.
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Wood Tech Summit Launching in Vancouver
Wood Tech Summit, a dynamic executive-level conference for North American woodworking professionals, will make its debut as a stand-alone event October 22-23, 2012 at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver.
Wood Tech Summit represents the latest collaboration between the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at UBC and Woodworking Network. The two-day event will feature three comprehensive full-day conferences, including Wood Finishing, Monday, Oct. 22, and Production Efficiency and Business Development, Tuesday, Oct. 23. Wood Tech Summit will also feature a Networking Reception on the evening of Monday, October 22, with tabletop displays manned by representatives of leading industry suppliers.
Highlights of 2012 Wood Tech Summit include:
- Opening Finishing Conference keynote presentation by Judson Beaumont, owner of Straight Line Designs and a one-of-a-kind designer and fabricator of custom wood products;
- Finishing Conference presentation by Denis Staples, president of Deslaurier Custom Cabinets, whose successful rebuild of the shop he co-owns after a devastating fire is featured in the book, That’ll Never Work, Business Lessons From Successful Canadian Entrepreneurs;
- Plant Productivity presentation on North America’s first fully automated lights out wood products manufacturing operation;
- Finishing & Business Development presentations by Bernie Bottens, contributing finishing expert for Woodworking Network and Custom Woodworking Business magazine;
- Plus, Finishing R&D, Green Marketing, Drumming Up Business with Social Media, 21st Century Prototyping and Integrating CAD/CAM with CNC Machining.
Learn more about Wood Tech Summit, including confirmed presentations, at WoodTechSummit.com.
For more information about attending Wood Tech Summit contact: Iain Macdonald, Managing Director, Centre for Advanced Wood Processing at 604-822-1472; iain.macdonald@ubc.ca or Rich Christianson, Vance Communications, 847-415-8024; rchristianson@vancepublishing.com. For sponsorship and exhibit opportunities contact Rich Widick of Hall-Erickson Inc. at 630-434-7779 or rwidick@heiexpo.com.
May 2012 Housing Report
May housing data included a decrease in overall housing starts driven by a decline in multi-family housing, while single-family starts indicated improvement. New home sales, building permits, and residential construction spending increased; yet housing completions decreased sharply.
Existing home sales are still “bottom-bouncing” and the number of available existing homes decreased slightly from April. Existing home prices posted a monthly increase of 7.9% and the Case-Shiller® indices reported increasing prices on a month-to-month basis. Private investors still remain key purchasers of foreclosures, bank REO homes, and existing and new home sales - - but their share of purchases declined in May.
Lastly, many economic indicators appear to be trending downwards in both the United States, Europe, and China. The Eurozone crisis is ongoing and China appears to be slowing. The key question about China is the severity of the economic slow-down – a soft or hard landing?
Click here to view the full report.
Scarlett Scores a "Three-Peat" in CNC Router Sales
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At the recently concluded sales and training meeting in Troutman, North Carolina, CR Onsrud Inc awarded the Scarlett sales team the top sales achievement honors for the third straight year. Scarlett is proud to be the recipient once again and pledged a continuing effort to take the top spot again next year. To make good on it's pledge, Scarlett recently added the expertise of Mr. Don Harvey of Grabill, Indiana to help expand the areas served by Scarlett and boost sales to another award winning level. Carl MacConnach has also joined the Scarlett team in a service and technical role to assist the growing number of router users in the Great Lakes region. The Scarlett Sales and Service team would like to thank all of our CNC router customers for their continued confidence in our products and applications expertise. |
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