From engineered woods to unique finishing systems and countersinking tooling systems to advanced gluer technology, some of the unique products on display at the International Woodworking Fair have been named winners of a prestigious industry award.

Perry Fails, president at Dura Supreme Cabinetry, a MasterBrands company, who chaired the Challengers Award judging process announced the winners at a special ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 6, during the show. The winners were presented the awards at their booths by members of the judging panel riding in trams through the showroom aisles.

“The Challengers Award judges want to thank you all for your participation in this process,” said Fails. “You make our jobs very difficult as judges because there's just a lot of great, great entries again this year.”

Fails announced the seven winning products from six companies. The winners were selected from 20 finalists, narrowed from a field of 92 initial entries from 75 exhibiting companies. The IWF Challengers Award “recognizes innovation in products, services, or manufacturing techniques that will advance the woodworking industry overall.”

The winners were presented the awards by a golf-cart caravan of judges and journalists.

IWF 2024 Challengers Award winners in alphabetical order (also see video below of the winners):

•    Current Composites Inc. – Liberty Wood – Booth C664

Liberty Wood is a compressed wood made from 1/16″ thick birch veneer and a phenol-based resin system, offering durability, dimensional stability, and an aesthetically pleasing finish. It can be customized in thickness, color, and shape, and is machinable, resistant to water and humidity, with minimal swelling and shrinking. Its natural beauty is enhanced by sanding and polishing, with no need for additional coatings, making it suitable for various applications

•    Make it Snappy Tools, Inc. – iCARB Indexable Carbide Countersinks – Booth C771 
 

The iCARB series of countersinks feature solid carbide cutters that can be indexed to a fresh edge and be replaced when needed. This revolutionary new design provides industry leading performance with unmatched durability and service life. The tool’s superior wear resistance makes it perfect for use in the  toughest and hardest of hardwoods and other abrasive materials.

•    Northtech Machine, LLC – iGlue by Northtech – Booth B6052
 

The Northtech iGlue is a new gluer that quickly and accurately applies glue to dovetail and similar joinery. A part is placed in the machine and the iGlue scans and applies glue all in one pass, in seconds with no required setups, no mess and no wasted glue. The machine has auto thickness compensation and can apply glue to either the mortise or tenon at the rate of over 100 dovetails/minute. The iGlue works with standard PVA white glue and can be used for any material.

•    Timber Wolf Forest Products – Fast-Snap by Timber Wolf – Booth BC1107

The patent pending Fast Snap product line is “revolutionizing how to decorate and change the look of your kitchen with minimal cost and tremendous flexibility.” The cutting edge application of wood and metal using a magnetic connection is available in five different corbels, six posts, and seven unique designs of metal inlays available in four finishes.

•    Total Finishing Solutions, LLC – VD Simple Dynamic – Booth A11309
 

The VD Simple Dynamic series for streamlined, effective finishing. Perfect fusion of simplicity and advanced technology. Different from traditional spraying-systems, the dynamic spraying concept allows a perfectly linear application trajectory avoiding the overlapping of the spraying coats

•    Total Finishing Solutions, LLC – Walcom TRUE LIGHT 2.0 – Booth A11309
The Walcon True Light 2.0 is a tool designed to change the way you paint. You can mount it on spray guns for painting to directly illuminate the surface to be painted and thanks to the high-resolution color rendering of the selected LEDs, the light you will get will be as close as possible to sunlight, thus guaranteeing you the best painting results both in terms of base color check, and optimum lighting even in darker areas.

•    Unilin Panels – Unilin Master Oak – Booth C1330
 

Unilin’s Master Oak product is a sustainable alternative to oak that radiates natural charm and warmth and feels like a real oak panel or veneer. Master Oak combines the look and feel of natural oak with the matchless quality of melamine and HPL: it is scratch-resistant, color fast and easy to maintain.

A panel of nine distinguished judges—all recognized professionals drawn from across the industry landscape— analyzed and evaluated each entry.