Helen Kuhl, editorial director of CWB and Wood & Wood Products, hit the floor running at Interzum 2009, a leading international supplier tradeshow, to bring ISWonline readers the scoop on industry-changing innovations being unveiled. The video above, and her story below, give viewers a glimpse of the show's most exciting products.

COLOGNE, GERMANY— One of the high points of Interzum are its Interzum awards, conducted in conjunction with the prestigious European red dot program. This year there were 209 entries from 115 companies, and judges selected a total of 42 winners. Seven products received the “Best of the best” designation, while the rest are “high product quality” winners. These awards are given to products for innovation, functionality and innovative use of material.

Among interesting winners in the “Best of the best” category is “Fumed Eucalyptus” from the German veneer company, Mehling & Wiesmann, www.mehling-wiesmann.de. This product is a real wood veneer that offers two important aspects. The first is its ecological aspect — it is sourced from sustainably managed forests and is available with PEFC and FSC certificates. The most interesting part, however, is that this product's 3-dimensional aspect is achieved by a unique smoking method. The smoking allows the wood color to not show any traces of aging, even after several years, and the wood becomes more resistant. This smoking method, designed for acidic woods, is ready to be applied industrially.

Winners in the “High Product Quality” category include:

1. Rehau’s Raukantex visions; edgebanding that has the look of real glass.

2. Blum’s Servo-Drive electronic automatic lifting system for its Aventos overhead door lift system.
3. Lamello’s Clamex P connector for modular and detachable furniture, which is opened and closed through a minimal opening.
4. Hettich’s Hettinject VB insert 38/50; an invisible connection fitting for furniture parts and shelves made of lightweight panels.
5. Rehau’s Rauvolet vetro-line; a tambour door system done with single thickness safety glass.
6. Hawa’s Hawa-Puro 100-150 sliding door hardware for large architectural applications; the system’s top tracks can be completely integrated in concrete ceilings and suspended ceilings, so it is more inobtrusive.
7. Kessenbohmer’s Ewiva swing-up fitting that minimizes the risk of injury and has a clip mechanism that makes assembly of the front user-friendly.