Wood Pro Expo in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, drew sizeable crowds both days at its new home in the Keystone State. Because of its success, plans are already in the works to find a bigger venue in Lancaster when it returns in October 2018. The regional show also heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Wood Pro Expo Charlotte runs Feb. 15-16 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

 

Hundreds of attendees fed a steady crowd to the show floors for the two-day run, October 19-20. The exposition also included excellent conference sessions programs on finishing, fabricating and management. Local experts were drawn from the Lancaster area's wood industry.  

 

A variety of equipment, supplies and services exhibitors met with local woodworkers and makers of cabinets, furniture, and millwork at the Lancaster Host exhibit hall east of Lancaster. Sampson led off the event with a hard-hitting keynote, advising woodworkers how to improve their businesses using fundamentals, e.g., forming a business plan, setting prices on labor plus material plus overhead and profit, etc.

 

Sampson kicked off a high-energy program that included hardwood lumber expert Criswell Davis of Frank Miller Lumber, who showed how the one percent lives, providing awe-inspiring examples of high-end millwork jobs. He also recounted the origin of hardwood lumber trends, sustainable forests, and milling techniques that yield quartersawn lumber.  

 

Other stand-out sessions included Cold Weather Fabrication by Bob Schaefer of Fessenden Hall Inc., examining how environmental Schaefer detailed characteristics of different types of panel and laminate products and the effects of moisture content and temperature changes. He also discussed characteristics of contact and PVA adhesives.

 

What’s in your Spray Booth? was presented by Bob Karmonick of Russell Plywood. He provided examples of possible challenges in finishing and described resources the finishing supplier can provide woodshops. Here too, maintaining the temperature matters, in maintaining consistency in coating applications. Sanding should get more attention and sanding shouldn’t be a punishment area, he said.