• A big increase in demand for space in 2012
• Exhibitors full of praises especially for the quality of visitors
The curtains were drawn with yet another major success for the four-day interzum guangzhou/CIFM 2011 which ran from March 27-30 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, ChinaT.T Being Asia’s largest and most comprehensive woodworking and furniture production trade fair, interzum guangzhou/CIFM 2011 featured 1,023 manufacturers and suppliers from 30 countries and regions and registered 50,514 professional buyers, representing a sixteen percent increase compared to last year.
The recovery of the global economy has aided in the continuous growth of the woodworking and furniture production market. Often considered as the industry’s barometer, the success of interzum guangzhou/CIFM is seen as a strong positive signal for stable development.
interzum guangzhou/CIFM 2011 has outperformed itself for the past seven years to achieve a total scale of 110,000 square meters – a ten percent increase against 2010; exhibitor numbers grew by fifteen percent, of which, 205 exhibitors hailed from abroad, accounting for twenty percent of the total number of participating companies.
The new presentation format featuring four distinct segments in the International Zone located at Hall 11.2 has proved to be a hit amongst buyers, providing them with a more efficient sourcing platform.
“This new classification is very good for us, it allows more detailed and simple definition of exhibits and results in customers to be more concentrated,” complimented JC Wang, Executive Vice President and Spokesman of industry heavyweight King Slide.
Referring to the show’s spectacular results, Michael Dreyer, Vice President Asia Pacific, Koelnmesse GmbH said: “The warm atmosphere at the trade fair and the enthusiasm of both the exhibitors and visitors is a great encouragement for the organizers. This also reflects that interzum guangzhou/CIFM is well-positioned. Looking forward, we will be actively seeking solutions to address the issue of space shortage to better meet with the needs of our exhibitors.”
A quick chat with major exhibitors at the show revealed that most of them were full of praises for the event and they were especially pleased with the quality of the visitors.
“interzum guangzhou gives me a possibility in a very short time to cover a lot of countries and a lot of customers, and interzum guangzhou is one of the best fairs that I’ve been to. Most (of the) customers agree that manufacturers from China are the most efficient because they can do a lot of stuff in 2-3 days. My customers who come from all over the world are here to see the machinery and they can visit me and see new stuff. So it’s the best place for me.” said Axel Sommerfeld, Sales and Marketing Manager, Jacquard Textile – a loyal interzum guangzhou/CIFM 2011 exhibitor.
Besides Jacquard Textile, interzum guangzhou/CIFM also has its fair share of longtime supporters who have been participating at the show since its inception. Italian woodworking machinery giant SCM Group is one of them.
Its General Manager, Marco Rampichini has this to say: “interzum guangzhou is the most important exhibition in China. All the biggest customers focus in south China. This was the place for (the) wood industry many years ago and it is still the most important one in China. We’ve been investing for 7 years. We are all satisfied so we will keep investing and investing. We also see the quantity of exhibitors is increasing and the quality of visitors is very high, so it’s definitely the best show in China.”
Mr. Rampichini further added he was also very pleased with the organizers’ service and hope that the problem on the lack of exhibition space could be resolved because “everybody wants more space”.
As for Korean furniture accessories supplier MOONJU Hardware, their debut participation at interzum guangzhou/CIFM did not happen until after a series of market research which revealed that most of their customers will source at the trade fair. interzum guangzhou/CIFM left a deep impression on James Jung, the company’s Overseas Sales Manager who said he met some long-awaited, good buyers and expressed that he will continue to exhibit next year.
Another first-time participant Andreas Korz, Sales & Marketing Director of German PFAFF said: “We see great potential in the expanding business of the furniture industry. We offer a wide range of the sewing machines, and we need to find a good platform for us to showcase our products. During the first two days, we’ve been very busy during the exhibition, we have a number of visitors here and we will have a very good follow-up after the exhibition. We will definitely come next year and apply earlier for a different booth location.”
Besides focusing on technology and knowledge innovation, interzum guangzhou/CIFM has also committed itself to the sustainable development of resources in woodworking and furniture production through the hosting of the Innovative Materials & Design Forum. As one of the major highlights this year, the forum held alongside the exhibition discussed in-depth topics on the new uses of existing materials and explored solutions to the technical issues on the research and development of new materials. The forum once again invited the General Manager of HDH, the National Confederation of German Woodworking and Furniture Industries, Ursula Geismann as guest speaker.
Ms. Geismann said: “The event brought together various aspects of the current discussion about sustainability and responsibility towards the resources of our environment. The presentations of the Chinese designers, who introduced various innovative interior fittings-and construction projects, were very interesting. The audience was very interested in the ideas on the responsible use of wood. The seminar was well attended, very interesting and informative from beginning to end.”
Koelnmesse and the TChina Foreign Trade Centre will continue to organize the Tnext interzum guangzhou/CIFM which will take place from March 27-30, 2012 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou.
For more information, please visit www.interzum-guangzhou.com.
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About Koelnmesse
As a world-renowned trade fair organizer, Koelnmesse has an excellent track record for organizing some of the world’s most successful trade events, such as the accomplished interzum and imm in Cologne, Germany and interzum Moscow/Interkomplekt in Russia. With over 80 years’ experience in organizing large-scale commercial events connecting buyers and sellers, Koelnmesse brings forth an unrivaled skill-set and expertise needed to develop interzum guangzhou into one of the premier international furniture production trade shows in Asia.
www.koelnmesse.com
About China Foreign Trade Centre (Group)
China Foreign Trade Centre (Group) is a highly qualified and experienced exhibition company. For more than 50 years, it has organized the China Import and Export Fair, the largest trade fair in China. China Foreign Trade Centre (Group) is also the organizer of CIFF (China International Furniture Fair (Guangzhou)), Asia’s biggest furniture trade fair.
