Acimall threatens action against disloyal members
Woodworking machinery exports buoy Italian industry
Acimall threatens action against disloyal membersMILAN, ITALY —

Affirming its support of Xylexpo, the Acimall general assembly said it might enforce disciplinary measures against member companies that attend directly competing shows, "considering such behavior non-compliant with the regulations of the Acimall statute."

In 2010, a number of longtime Xylexpo exhibitors, including
SCM, Biesse and Cefla, pulled out of Xylexpo in favor of the newly formed Technodomus fair. Like with 2010, the two shows will again be back-to-back in 2012, with Technodomus taking place April 20-24 at Rimini Fiera in Rimini, Italy, and Xylexpo being held 200 miles away at the Fieramilano-Rho Exhibition Center in Milan, May 8-12.

In a written statement, Acimall President Ambrogio Delachi said, “With this stance, the assembly does not want to limit the freedom of choice of each company, but rather give a clear message to fight the more and more frequent short-sighted initiatives that inevitably weaken the image of our industry and our country system, with consequences that, in the medium term, will bring serious damage to the entire industry if not promptly and strongly opposed.

“Our stance is fully approved and shared by all European associations of woodworking machinery manufacturers which – through the Eumabois federation – have clearly declared their intention to exclusively attend Xylexpo 2012, as they consider it essential to take part in only one exhibition in order to avoid problems and confusion in the market,” Delachi said.

In 2010, Xylexpo had 648 exhibitors and 51,480 attendees, half of which were from abroad. The exhibition area was 420,000 net square feet.

At the recently concluded Ligna woodworking fair in Hannover, Germany, Biesse distributed "tickets" for Technodomus 2012 at its exhibit booth. In addition, organizers of Technodomus advertised the event in billboards at the Hannover Airport.

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