The shows will go on

The Shanghai International Furniture Machinery & Woodworking Machinery Fair (WMF) has been combined with the Shanghai China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) and will be held between September 7-10 this year.

CIFF, which is known in some quarters as “Asia’s furniture sourcing centre” and “the weatherglass of China’s furniture industry”, is a flagship event for China’s furniture and home furnishings sectors. Held twice a year, in spring and autumn, the event usually brings together more than 4,000 and 2,000 world-leading brands respectively and attracts more than 450,000 visitors from 200 countries and regions.

The event, which takes place at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre, Shanghai Hongqiao, China has been kept on schedule, with the organisers saying that, although it’s affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, there are still many “star exhibitors” showing their positive support to the development of the wood industry in this difficult environment.

Exhibitors at WMF, for example, include Homag, Biesse, Idea, Nanxing, Excitech, Richfruits, Sandar, Linze, Samach and H&C. In its Panel Boards Zone, confirmed exhibitors include: China Foma, Yalin, Dieffenbacher, Berndorf, Sunds, New Times Conveyor, Xintianli, Xingteng, Chinglun, Baolong, Jielong, Yilin, Heshengyuan and Zhengdong, WMF will gather more than 400 woodworking and furniture production equipment manufacturers, and showcase a series of complete manufacturing solutions.

Visitors can also visit CIFF (Shanghai) with the same badge to experience a series of innovative furniture designs.

In explaining why the company felt it was important to engage with customers at an exhibition, Guan Jianhua, chairman of Homag and a long-term partner of WMF said that despite facing the severe challenges of the pandemic, it had not stopped promoting the development of China’s home furnishing and woodworking industries. Homag will launch new equipment and technologies that are most relevant to the needs of the Chinese market at WMF in September.

Biesse is also supporting WMF this year. “Although the current epidemic situation is not clear and the furniture woodworking industry is also uncertain, we will still work together and hope for a better tomorrow,” said Piergiorgio Franca, Biesse’s China regional chief executive officer.

“Since the first WMF was held in 1986, Biesse has never been absent. Biesse will bring the latest equipment for the industry to WMF in September and we look forward to meeting with visitors in Hongqiao.”

Online Presence

As well as the exhibition in Shanghai, WMF has launched an online exhibition on its website, which allows buyers from around the globe “to connect with our exhibitors without any limitation”.

The online exhibition platform allows buyers to browse the technologies and new products at any time, breaking both time and geographical boundaries. Buyers can learn the details of the product and company’s background through the online exhibition platform and, if there are any questions, can contact exhibitors through the platform.

For those who are able to attend, the online platform also helps them to locate exhibitors’ booth number, which will make the visit easier.

WMF will also organise a webinar, which invites professionals from the industry to explain the current situation of the woodworking industry and solutions for the challenges. Some of the exhibitors will also be invited to showcase their new machinery and technology. For those who are not able to come to the exhibition, WMF also provides an online business matching service. Buyers can enjoy the one-stop sourcing service online or offline.

Registration for WMF 2020 is open on www.woodworkfair.com. Exclusive benefits will be offered to registered visitors, including free admission (one badge, two fairs: WMF + CIFF Shanghai), one free copy of show catalogue and priority to participate in conferences.

For more information, please visit www.woodworkfair.com or the show’s official social media platforms