Registration continues for 2014 Wood Tech Summit, Oct. 9-10 at the Woodworking Centre of Ontario. High-profile woodworking business owners will share their ideas on growing and operating a successful operation.

Located on the campus of Conestoga College - one of the world's largest woodworking education centers - Wood Tech Summit 2014 is a 60-minute drive from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

An inspiring lead-off speaker will be Judson Beaumont, the charismatic and creative founder of Straight Line Designs furniture. Beaumont will speak on Surviving and Thriving Through Continuous Innovation."

Beaumont is famed for his off-beat furniture designs such as the "little black dresser" shown here.  His appearance represents a return engagement; Beaumont spoke at the first Wood Tech Summit in Vancouver in 2012.

Organized under the auspices of the Woodworking Centre of Ontario at Conestoga College, the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing at the University of British Columbia, the Wood Manufacturing Council, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Lignum Consulting and Woodworking Network, Wood TEch Summit 2014 is also supported by the Bluewater Wood Alliance. The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association also has pledged support.

The professional woodworking track will focus on increasing raw material yield, improving process flow, achieving high-quality green finishes, boosting productivity, exporting wood products, getting more from nesting, choosing the right tool for the job, developing a winning production team, hiring and training new employees, how to break into new product markets, etc.

Wood Tech Summit kicks off Thursday, Oct. 9 with a full-day conference program, tabletop exhibits, and a networking reception. Attendees will have the option to attend the Friday, Oct. 10 facility tours, which currently include George Guenzler & Sons and the Woodworking Centre of Ontario. Wood Tech Summit will feature separate educational tracks for professional woodworkers and high school woodworking instructors, guidance counselors and students. The vocational woodworking track will focus on career opportunities for high school and college students in the wood products industry.

Wood Tech 2014 Speakers
In additiona to Surviving & Thriving Through Continuous Innovation by Judson Beaumont, speakers include:

• Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Hiring & Training Best Practices – Richard Lipman, President, Wood Manufacturing Council

• On-Shore vs. Off-Shore Manufacturing – Pierre “Pete” Fournier, President, Triangle Kitchen Ltd.

• Big Marketing Ideas for Small Marketing Budgets – Jim Lawrence, President, Avondale Kitchens & Baths and President of the Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association

• Reaping the Rewards of a Woodworking Cluster – Mike Baker, Manager, Bluewater Wood Alliance

• New Technologies & Trends That Have, Will or Might Transform Your Woodworking Business – Sepp Gmeiner, Partner, Lignum Consulting

Oct. 10 Facility Tours
George Guenzler & Sons Inc. has bulked up on CNC technology at its plant to manufacture turned and shaped wood components. Its customers include many of the leading and largest wood product manufacturers in North America.

The Woodworking Centre of Ontario is a 50,000-square-foot, well-equipped facility on the Conestoga College campus. Facilitating excellence in secondary wood processing education and training, it is ranked in the top four in the world as a top-rated training institution.

Wood Tech Summit has negotiated a group rate at the Holiday Inn Kitchener-Waterloo Hotel & Conference Center, 30 Fairway Road South in Kitchener. Learn more, book a room, and register at woodtechsummit.com.