PHILADELPHIA – The Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America announced the launch of the U.S. Innovation & Demonstration Center – a WMMA community project – at the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair, Aug. 20-23, in Atlanta.

The 3,600-square-foot center, located at booth #5752 in Hall B of the Georgia World Congress Center, will feature several manufacturing cells, each showcasing a different combination of WMMA member machines, cutting tools, supplies and systems brought together through systems integration. Eighteen WMMA member companies are participating in the project, which will produce complete sets of kitchen cabinets for donation to the Atlanta Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Ken Hutton, WMMA’s executive vice president, said, “The primary project objectives are twofold. The first objective is to maintain the economic competitiveness of the American wood equipment industry through a demonstration of manufacturing methods which improve profitability. The second goal is to bring new information about processing and business-related skills to businesses involved in the development and manufacturing of wood products.

“The secondary objective,” Hutton added, “is to highlight the disposal of routinely-generated waste products, such as wood scrap and sawdust, for power generation or recycling into other wood products.”