For IWF 2014, Education Is a Top Draw
IWF 2014 Challengers Award Call for Entries

International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta plans for big crowds and major technology debuts.

The wood industry’s recovery is in full swing, so expect big crowds at the International Woodworking Fair, August 20-23 in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Taking place every other year, IWF 2012 saw more than 20,000 in attendance, counting exhibitors. This year the numbers should be even higher, with more than 824 exhibitors already booked for the show.

Woodworkers around the country are growing desperate to improve production throughput – so along with the latest equipment and supplies, they will be setting an agenda for education, to learn to run operations better.

In anticipation, IWF has expanded its Educational Conference to more than 50 educational sessions during the course of the show, with quite a few of them oriented toward custom woodworking. IWF has enlisted the Architectural Woodwork Institute, the Association of Closets & Storage Professionals, the International Surface Fabricators Association, and the Cabinet Makers Association, to name a few examples.

Hundreds of wood industry professionals will arrive a day early in Atlanta to take advantage of the full-day of symposiums:

Wood Finishing ... The Path to Profitability
New Direction in Decorative Surfacing Business
Veneering Symposium
Woodworking Inventors: Creating New Products & Business Processes
Estimating - Remodel My Business
• Door & Window Symposium
• Closet Symposium
• Wood Bioenergy Symposium

The International Surface Fabricators Association has its own full day program on August 19, covering design basics, healthcare infection control, and ultra compact surfacing. On Wednesday it presents the ADA for the Decorative Surfaces Industry.

The Cabinet Makers Association will provide a robust program of courses over three days for its CMA Certified Professionals program, launched at IWF 2012. Curriculum sessions contain required knowledge to pass CMA testing; and CEU sessions are offered for cabinetmakers already CMA certified, who are required to earn 4.0 CEUs per year and to pass applicable testing.

“You do not need to be a CMA member or enrolled in our certification program to attend any of these sessions,” says CMA executive director Dave Grulke. “All are welcome to attend.”

Technology Theater

The IWF Technology Theater introduced at IWF 2012 returns for 2014 with presentations from IWF exhibitors on products, services, and the latest technological advancements.

At 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, SCM Group will present Flexible Panel Storage Systems, Inventory Management and More.

On Thursday, August 21, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Premier Eurocase delivers Take the Hassle Out of High Gloss, followed by TigerStop with Get the Most Out of Your Rough Mill in a Lean Environment; Northern Apex on Hands-Free Work in Progress; SCM Group on SCM Software Xilog Maestro; Biesse on its AirForce hot air edge-banding system; and Info Trends on Digital Printing.

Friday August 22 Biesse appears again for The New Innovative bSolid Software at 11:30 a.m.; and at 3:00 p.m. Next Wave Automation talks about Small Format CNCs for School Shops.

Technology Reports & WoodworkingNetwork at IWF 2014

The editors of Woodworking Network will be exceptionally easy to find at the International Woodworking Fair. Base camp is Booth 1860, where the team will be producing videos and publications live on the show floor.

WoodworkingNetwork is producing the Official Show Daily, to be delivered all four mornings at all the major entry points to the Georgia World Congress Center.

Mid-morning on August 20, the day the show opens, WoodworkingNetwork will publicize the announcement of the IWF 2014 Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award winners. Readying for that, WoodworkingNetwork publishes the Official IWF 2014 Challengers Award Competition magazine in late June.

As Official IWF 2014 Videographer, WoodworkingNetwork will post live video from the floor continuously at the WoodworkingNetwork website, and through Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. These social media channels will also host interactive sessions with speakers and conferences throughut the hall. #IWF14 is the show hashtag.

On Friday, August 22, at 1:00 p.m., WoodworkingNetwork will present “Housing Markets and the Secondary Woodworking Industry – Lessons from the Downturn,” with speakers Urs Buehlmann, Virginia Tech; Matt Bumgardner, USDA Forest Service; and Karen Koenig, Wood Products.

Find the latest International Woodworking Fair technology news and education at woodworkingnetwork.com/iwf

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