MILAN, Italy - Xylexpo 2020 has been postponed until the second half of the year due to the coronavirus. The woodworking fair was originally scheduled for May 26-29 in Milan, Italy, one of the regions hard hit by the contagious disease.

The decision was made Friday, March 6, following a meeting by the Managing Board of Acimall, the association of Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers, owner of the biennial exhibition.

According to the statement released March 9, "the 2020 edition will not be held next May 26-29 as originally planned, but postponed to the second half of the year, in dates that will be identified later on, in view of the ongoing disruption of trade fair calendars and the unpredictable developments of the 'Covid-19' emergency."

“We waited as long as we could, hoping the situation would go back to normal," said Lorenzo Primultini, president of Acimall and of the exhibition. “We hope that, by the end of May, the coronavirus effects will not be what we are seeing now, but unfortunately we cannot tell when this emergency will be over on a global scale, and most of all, we cannot predict its impact on the industrial system and on the supply chains of the wood and furniture technology industry.”

Show organizers stated the postponement was made as "an act of responsibility, with the priority of safeguarding public health, as neither exhibitors nor visitors, in the current situation, would be able to plan their participation in the most important exhibition of the wood technology industry in even-numbered years."

“For companies, the worst enemy is uncertainty, and it was actually the negative situation we are seeing right now that drove us to take this hard decision, in the interest of the entire industry," Primultini added.

The 2020 biennial fair is will play host to more than 330 exhibitors of major machinery and related products from around the world, with displays spread across more than 312 thousand net square feet of display space, in three exhibit halls. At a preview event held in February for international journalists, show organizers projected 2020 attendance would exceed the estimated 18,000 woodworking professionals who attended the 2018 Xylexpo fair.