Over 150 delegates gathered at the Molino Stucky on the Giudecca Island to analyze trends and prospects of temperate and tropical hardwoods production. Calcaterra (Chairman of Fedecomlegno): “The International Hardwood Conference in Venice will be remembered as the edition of the breakthrough, thanks to the tools that have been made available to companies to face the challenges of international markets”.
Great success for the seventh edition of the International Hardwood Conference, one of the most important world events dedicated to temperate and tropical hardwoods market. More than 150 delegates from 17 countries matched on the present and the future of hardwood lumber trade, thanks to the presence of top-level speakers who provided useful insights to face market changes. Fourteen speakers during the two sessions of the day, introduced by Davide Pettenella and Stefano Berti, have studied statistical, technical, regulatory, architectural and market aspects, offering participants a very high level proposal. The first session, which focused on the markets for the production and consumption of broad-leaved trees (Europe, United States, Asia and Africa), ended with Pierre Marie Desclos‘s Lectio Magistralis, who recalled that in the next thirty years we will have to face an exponential increase of the population that will upset the current situation of the commerce. Fundamental, underlined Desclos, will be the development and the ability to govern the logistics. The second part, however, saw the speakers discuss the following topics: sustainability, legality, technology and product and system innovation. Following the format of the morning session, the meeting ended with a passionate intervention by Maurizio Riva of Riva1920 on the need to enhance solid wood, a true and unique sustainable resource available to our companies. And this is whether it is an oak tree cut in the woods near the house, a fossil trunk of kuri ancient 50,000 years or a briccola recovered from the Venetian lagoon to make a table or stool that will enrich our home. The two-day Venice ended with a gala dinner at the historic Zeno palace and with a visit to the historic Barovier and Toso glassworks in Murano. The International Hardwood Conference 2017 is the result of the collaboration between Fedecomlegno (Association of timber dealers belonging to FederlegnoArredo), the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF), European Organization of the Sawmills (EOS). The event was also supported by ATIBT (International Tropical Wood Technical Association) and AHEC (North American Hardwood Exporters Organization), Acimall (Italian woodworking machinery manufacturers association) and Conlegno (Cork Wood Services Consortium). The companies that wanted to support the conference, the Florian Group as main sponsor of the event, Incomac and Termolegno.
