From stick to semi-manufacture

Scandinavia can boast concentrated exhibition power on wood and forestry themes. With skilful theme and date selection events can exist in parallel.

There are quite a few wood and timber trade shows in the north of Europe, each with its own special focus. Which is precisely why they don't hurt each other, enjoying strong growth or a stable existence like the two Finnish industry events Puun työstö und Puu ja Bioenergia. Whereas the former focuses in Lahti on wood processing, the second in Jyvaskyla describes itself as an International Trade Show for the Wood Industry and Renewable Energies. The two organisers, the Finnish Association of Technical Traders in Lahti and Jyväskylän Messut, additionally unravel competition by setting their show dates far apart. In Sweden no fewer than four platforms revolve around wood. There, too, each has its own individual slant and addresses a different target group. The two highest-attendance shows take place in Jönköping and are organised by one and the same show management company, Elmia AB in Jönköping. With not quite 58,000 exhibition guests and around 500 exhibitors, the over 30 year-old Elmia Wood is the clear frontrunner in numerical terms. The International Forestry Trade Fair addresses forest entrepreneurs, forest managers, and forest and sawmill owners. Every four years it shows its audience new developments in afforestation, forest protection, wood harvesting, logging, forest trail building and maintenance, and occupational safety and hygiene. Also on show are timber transportation vehicles. But what gives the fair its own very unique character is its location: Elmia Wood takes place on an open-air site in the forest, where it covers more than 200,000 m2. Heavily dependent on the weather, you might think. But: "Lots of these fairs are held outdoors. Bad weather has never been a problem for our people - we've not had slumps in attendance because of the weather. The people that work in this industry are hardy," Torbjörn Johnsen, Business Area Manager Theme Shows at Elmia AB, grins. Also every four years - but never in the same year as its big sister - SkogsElmia Baltic gathers a very similar audience in terms of interest. But geographically, this forestry fair concentrates on the Baltic region, a focus that is rewarded with a hefty 25,000 visitors and 265 exhibitors. This year it will occupy in excess of 90,000 m2 from May 31 to June 2 on the Elmia exhibition grounds.
Meanwhile,Trä & Teknik in Gothenburg is directed at a very different target group. The International Wood Products and Components Trade Fair showcases sawmilling machinery, tools, electronic drying equipment and everything on the themes impregnation, surface treatment, transport and material handling as well as humidifiers, environmental equipment and wooden components and fittings. "At Trä & Teknik you can exactly trace the path from stick to semi-manufacture," says Alexander Zielke from SvenskConsult, Bad Soden, the show's German agent. Every two years around 10,000 attendees visit the more than 200 exhibitors. With statistics like these "Trä & Teknik sees itself as a miniature edition of Ligna in Hanover and Interzum in Cologne, the premier exhibitions in this sector," Zielke adds. se

m+a report Nr.1 / 2007 vom 13.02.2007
m+a report vom 13. Februar 2007