The International Woodworking Fair

Greetings Customers & Friends,

If you are in the woodworking business, or a very serious woodworker, you may want to consider a trip to Atlanta to attend the International Woodworking Fair (IWF), which is held every two years at the Georgia World Congress Center. I probably should have written about this last month, as the show is from August 6^th – 9^th, so not much time to decide. Although I’m sure you can still attend.

It is an amazing experience. Although I don’t plan to attend this year, I have 3 or 4 times over the years. In 2015, I purchased our CNC equipment, tooling, and software at the show and spent over $200k. At the same time, I applied for a Small Business Express Matching Grant / Loan. My application was approved and based on the terms of the agreement I had to create 6 new jobs within 18 months and maintain that employment level for another 12 months. If successful, the loan would become a grant and the debt would be forgiven. The maximum amount of the grant was $100k, so in the end, that Small Business Express Grant paid for 50% of our purchase.

Back to the IWF – It is in Atlanta every 2 years, with alternating years having a similar but smaller show in Las Vegas. The show in Atlanta is the largest woodworking show in the country. It takes a full 3 days to see the entire show, and that is if you don’t take too much time shopping or talking. IWF serves the world’s largest woodworking market with an unmatched presentation of the industry’s latest technology, powering machinery, components, materials, trends, leadership, and training. Some vendors set up weeks in advance, installing dust collection and compressed air to power up their largest state of the art equipment so the tens of thousands of attendees from around the globe can see this machinery in action. Some of the larger vendors have show budgets exceeding a million dollars to exhibit and in return will sell millions in new equipment. There are some heavy-duty entertaining budgets with some of the vendors wining and dining perspective buyers. Not all vendors are large of course. Over 30 business sectors are represented including the latest in computer hardware and software, cabinet and furniture hardware, laminates and solid surfaces, lumber and milling, and the latest in coatings, paints, and chemicals used in woodworking industry are represented as well. There are numerous classes and clinics to attend and learn from as well as skills competition with college design students competing, and awards for innovation that go to vendors with new ideas and technology developing new products. And much, much more.

A couple of memorable things from past visits for me were a production work cell that mass produced kitchen cabinet components. The cell had a footprint of about 1600 s.f. (about 40’ x 40’). The exhibitor constructed 2 bridges that guided attendees over these bridges so that you had a bird’s eye view of the robotics that moved the material and parts from one work station to the next, as state of the art CNC equipment was cutting, machining, and banding the parts. The parts were then palatized and shrunk wrapped. Thousands of parts ready for assembly. No human hands. Production like this is why Parkerville can’t compete with manufactured box cabinets sold at big box stores or through kitchen design centers.

A second memorable exhibitor was Stiles Machinery, typically the largest exhibitor at the show. A huge, North American industrial supplier of equipment for the woodworking industry. They are an elite company that furnishes a total package including equipment and machinery, seamless integration with software, training, and support. I’d been walking the show for a day and a half when I entered Stile’s exhibit area in time to watch a demonstration of a large panel saw. I was hot, tired, and thirsty. They had about 25 stools set up for attendees to sit. They had a huge cooler filled with cold bottled water, and headsets for the attendees. The operator’s computer screen was projected on a large monitor so that everyone there could listen to and watch the operator run this machine. They also had cameras in key locations so that you could see the actual cutting of the material. This machine could cut up to 9 – ¾” thick panels at once and could handle panels up to 5’ x 12’. Today the machine is probably in the range of $2 to 300,000.00. I left their exhibit thinking that Stiles knew how to present and sell their equipment. True professionals. Really impressive. If you ever have the opportunity to attend the IWF, I can assure you that it will be an experience that you will never forget.

I wish you a relaxing summer and hope you are spending quality time with your family and friends.

I hope to see you at the shop.

Sincerely,

David Harris, President

Parkerville Wood Products, Inc.