The exhibition, though affected by the difficult economic period, is once again the reference event in even-numbered years and the place where you can compare the offer of 650 manufacturers, looking for the “ideal solution”.
It’s a few days to the official opening of the 22nd edition of Xylexpo, the big international show in even-numbered years, that comes back as a platform of innovation, research and solutions for woodworking machinery and technology.
A date that, for 42 years, has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world to Milan; in 2010, there are 652 exhibitors, including 225 from across the border, covering a net exhibition surface of 42,500 square meters. Germany in the front row and – with 70 companies – is the largest National contingent followed by China (21 exhibitors), Taiwan (16), Czech Republic and Spain (11 exhibitors), Austria (11) and so on.
An excellent result in view of the serious crisis that has hit the woodworking technology business, just think that international trade in this industry collapsed by 37.5 percent in 2009. A hurricane that swept the entire woodworking industry and, for Xylexpo, there was the additional problem of another exhibition organized very close, though largely below expectations in terms of results.
The loss of 200 exhibitors versus 2008 and 30 thousand square meters less will not change the meaning of this exhibition, which pays the fee of a deep international economic crisis. But let us make some remarks as we leaf through the fair catalog (which has been accessible online for a few weeks at www.xylexpo.com): the reduction of exhibitors is mainly due to the absence of many small and very small producers of components and aggregates. For them, the woodworking machinery business is just one of many destination markets for their products, and during a period of serious crisis, they are obviously optimizing their promotional costs. As the economic climate improves, many exhibitors that are not exclusively related to woodworking technology will probably come back to the next editions.
Not only: the reduction of exhibiting space is due to the decision of many companies to cut costs and reserve less space than in the past. So, the “big names”, the reference brands, the “innovation makers” are in Milan, though with lower investments.
The third remark based on an accurate analysis of the list of exhibitors at Xylexpo 2010 is that the Milan exhibition is a comprehensive review, the most important showcase in even-numbered year, that gathers small, medium and large enterprises and international groups in Milan to present machinery, products and technology. Today more than ever, users are looking for tailor-made solutions to produce according to standard or most peculiar needs. Even standard machines, the most conventional, are adapted to the specific requirements of each buyer. With many exhibitors attending, Xylexpo will allow visitors to compare, check, choose from thousands of options, different combinations of performance, price, functionality and flexibility. Because this is the function of a trade fair: provide the most comprehensive comparison to all visitors.
THE LAYOUT
Also this year, the exhibition layout was conceived to support and streamline the visit: halls 1-3 and 2-4 will display technology for panel processing, surface treatment and related products, as well as hardware, semifinished materials and accessories.
Hall 6 will be dedicated to solid wood machining and finishing technology; hall 10 will host the exhibitors of machines, accessories and tools for first processing and the production of panels, technology for construction timber, wood, beams and load-bearing semifinished materials.
Halls 5 and 7 will showcase the exhibitions organized by FieraMilano, Bias, Fluidtrans Compomac and Mechanical Power Transmission & Motion Control, exhibitions organized by Rssegne – a company of the Fiera Milano group – dedicated to the industrial components: a collaboration that starts this year and completes the review of production technologies “upstream”.
BOSCO IN FIERA
We are now talking about hall 14. In this area, two “families” of exhibitors were gathered, i.e. industry press and the national associations and industry exhibitions. A third section will be “Bosco in fiera”, the “absolute beginner” of this Xylexpo edition, a 3,000-square-meter natural environment with tall trees, created in partnership with Region Lombardy and FieraMilano and with the structures and installations offered by Legnoluce from Majano, near Udine (www.legnoluce.it); the key topics are sustainable forest management, carbon stock, forest policies, as well as wood handicraft, natural engineering, territory protection and monitoring, training and education. It’s an event with powerful cultural meanings and a double soul: from Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8, it will show the strong focus of Xylexpo on the very first stages of wood processing. With “Bosco in fiera”, Xylexpo wants to underline the central role of raw material wood, creating the “core”, a preview of an event that, starting from 2012, will provide an ideal frame to present companies specializing in first processing, production of tools and technology for forest operations, territory management, timber constructions.
Then, on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9, “Bosco in fiera” will be open to the public, thanks to an extraordinary extension of the calendar. The offer includes guided tours, events, theater performances, chainsaw sculptures, special shows, laboratories for kids and families, and the “Timberman Biathlon”, a demonstration of skillfulness in forest activities.
VISITORS
Xylexpo 2010 will be a very important stage in the history of this biennial international show, for a number of reasons. First of all, it will be a complete review, where you can have an exhaustive overview of the current offer of processing technology for wood and wood-based materials. Organizers are sure that this offer will be appreciated by industry operators pouring in to Milan. In this respect, significant efforts have been made to ensure and confirm the role Xylexpo worldwide. Selecting partners to “cover” all markets with an interest in woodworking, an extensive and far-reaching promotional campaign has been carried out in the past eighteen months, getting in touch with over 100 thousand potential visitors through different channels.
A significant investment, despite the tough economic period. Actually, it was even more relevant for this reason and it added to the invitations of woodworking machinery and tools importers, over 300, sent out also in collaboration with the Italian Foreign Trade Institute (Ice) and the Italian Ministry of economic development. Specific attention was paid not to established international importers who normally visit Xylexpo, but to traders from emerging markets or new types of actors from mature markets. Exhibitions are not designed to meet those you know already, but to find new opportunities!
The current status of new pre-registration procedures on the www.xylexpo.com web site allows to be optimistic about the number of visitors we will see from 4 to 8 May at FieraMilano.
XYLEXPO ARENA
More news for this Xylexpo edition concern the organization and hosting of a number of events and initiatives that will add value to the commercial side of the exhibition. For this reason , in hall 14, a new area will be opened and, in the vision of organizers, will become a “fixed stage” in the future: Xylexpo Arena, a fully equipped “meeting center” with a capacity of one hundred seats to attend events, conference, roundtable discussions organized by companies, designers, operators, institutes, research centers to illustrate their new ideas and solutions, their projects and their latest achievements and creations (the calendar of events is updated in real time on www.xylexpo.com).
