Exhibitors call inaugural Woodworking Fair Midwest a success
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More than 150 people from a dozen states attended the Woodworking Fair Midwest to see woodworking machinery sales displays in the wake of the cancelled IWF show. Northtech Machinery was one of 18 exhibitors at the event.

BORDEN, IN – More than 150 people participated August 26-28 in the Woodworking Fair Midwest (WFM), a regional trade show created in light of the IWF 2020 cancellation. Eighteen exhibitors showcased their product and services to attendees from 12 different states, as far away as Georgia and Pennsylvania.

“This was an experiment. We didn’t know what to expect,” said Kirsti Nelson, Director of Marketing and Communications at Vecoplan. Nelson served on the event steering committee and managed the show’s marketing. In a post-show survey, she said, “Over 85 percent of exhibitors stated they were satisfied with the quality of attendees. We may not have had huge groups of people inundate us, but that’s a pretty impressive satisfaction rating considering this was a first-time event.”

Many exhibitors set up their machinery to do demonstrations. Six had a 600 square-foot or larger booth to display their equipment.

WFM also surveyed attendees on their impression after the show. Their consensus was that they want the show to return.

Many exhibitors set up their machinery to do demonstrations. Six had a 600 square-foot or larger booth to display their equipment. This was the Striebig booth.

“Seventy percent of attendees said they’d like the show to happen each year. They were pleased with the products and services at WFM. Half of the respondents said they’d like to see even more exhibitors. So who knows? WFM may be here to stay. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Nelson.

WFM exhibitor in alphabetical order included:

• Cefla Finishing

• Dekker Vacuum Technologies

• Dubois Equipment Company

• Honeyville Metal

• IVEC Systems

• CasadeiBusellato

• Lamello

• Northtech Machine

• Nova Dry Kiln

• PMK Systems

• Pyramid Technical Group

• Striebig

• TigerStop

• Timesavers

• RUF Briquetting

• Vecoplan

• Weinig Holz-Her

• Woodtech Machinery

The Woodworking Fair Midwest was described by promoters as a friendly, casual event designed for the good of the industry that was formed as a result of IWF 2020 being cancelled. A trade-only event, the focus is on the secondary woodworking market including wood finishing, planing, profiling, cutting, grinding, and sanding, among other technologies. The website, woodworkingfairmidwest.com, allows attendees to register free of charge and potential exhibitors to express their interest.

 

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William Sampson

William Sampson is a lifelong woodworker, and he has been an advocate for small-scale entrepreneurs and lean manufacturing since the 1980s. He was the editor of Fine Woodworking magazine in the early 1990s and founded WoodshopBusiness magazine, which he eventually sold and merged with CabinetMaker magazine. He helped found the Cabinet Makers Association in 1998 and was its first executive director. Today, as editorial director of Woodworking Network and FDMC magazine he has more than 20 years experience covering the professional woodworking industry. His popular "In the Shop" tool reviews and videos appear monthly in FDMC.