Some 56,582 visitors thronged the aisles of CIFM / interzum guangzhou which closed recently here to rave reviews. The four-day woodworking machinery, furniture production and interior design fair – the largest and most comprehensive in Asia – starting Mar 27 showcased 130,000 square-meters of products from 29 countries and regions. Among the 1,057 exhibitors, 243 foreign manufacturers were hosted under the International Halls which grew by 30 percent this year.
With the economic rise of Asia, in particular China, global buyers have flocked to this major event of the industry. International attendee figure was registered at 17,703 – a bump of 13 percent from last year. They came from 114 countries and regions, primarily from the sectors of do-it-yourself and build-it-yourself, furniture manufacturing, furniture wholesale and retail, interior design, trade associations and organizations, wood and plastic processing, as well as trading.
Participants this year experienced a new hall concept which saw the Machinery Zone relocating to Area B of the venue and Upholstery Zone to Area C. In addition, the International Halls were segmented by product group which has proven to facilitate product displays by exhibitors as well as providing a more efficient sourcing platform for buyers.
"We've been coming to interzum guangzhou since 2008. This year, Area C is a new place for us and we were worried that visitors will not be able to find their way, but we found that it is more convenient and the facility is good with good visitor flow," said Michael Mai, manager of South China region, OKIN Refined Electric Technology.
On the same note, sales director of Titus, Dale L. Birkland said: "It’s the fourth time we participate at interzum guangzhou. It is the opportunity to build our brand; it also gives us the opportunity to see what the market is doing in China and to hear from our customers from Asian countries. It gives us a good opportunity to interact with the people and the factories in Asia. It seems that the economy is moving a little bit better, and more people is visiting this show. We've seen the major people we want. For the new hall this year, it's good; I like the idea of the international community being in one area. Overall, it's a good move."
Two-time show participant, Dirk Hagemeijer, sales director of TIETEX said: "We were here last year for the first time to see how the show was organized, and evaluate the visitors and the quality of the show. And we decided to participate at the show this year again. I think there’s a lot of traffic with a lot of people from many parts of the world, not only China but also Asian countries, Africa, the United States, Europe, Middle East and South America, which is the kind of good response we are looking for and this is the main reason we chose interzum guangzhou. We also think that interzum guangzhou is more international compared with other similar shows. We’re almost certain that we’ll come again next year."
"The location of interzum guangzhou in South China makes it very convenient for us. Sales targets are growing every year, so you need to come and meet old and new customers to keep ongoing business and be updated with the market," noted French Timber’s managing director, Jean-Francois Guilbert.
In addition, the quality of visitors at interzum guangzhou drew an outpour of compliments from exhibitors.
Speaking for Schmalz GmbH was their head of key account management, Stefan Eisenkohl: “It’s our first time to exhibit at interzum guangzhou. The show is very well visited and we have met a lot of high quality customers and generated a lot of good deals. We will definitely come next year.”
Fellow first-timer, Paul Schouten, business development manager of SABA said: “interzum guangzhou is a good platform for us to contact our customer base. We have exhibited at interzum Cologne and had successful business feedback there. Now we are developing the Asian market with focus on China, therefore, interzum guangzhou really fits into the whole plan for us. The customer base of interzum guangzhou is of our expectation, and we’ve met who we are expecting over these few days.”
Boyteks from Turkey, which has been paying annual homage to interzum guangzhou set to be another permanent fixture at the show. “We’ve been coming to interzum guangzhou since 2007. There’re many producers here and we can see our target customers from all over the world. We are satisfied with the number of visitors this year,” said sales and marketing manager, Deniz Boydak.
"We’ve been to interzum guangzhou for 4 or 5 years. We have a good impression of Koelnmesse. The whole arrangement of the fair, including the hall allocation, quality control of the visitors and other services provided are very good. We are quite positive with the results this year. Every year we receive about 200 contacts of which, 80% translated to actual sales," said the director of American Softwoods, Xu Fang.
"interzum guangzhou is the first exhibition that we’ve participated in China. From the response these two days, there are many high quality visitors. Our product is a newly developed material, first of its kind in the marketplace, so we have to find a good platform to showcase, and this is also one of the reasons why we chose interzum guangzhou. We’re very satisfied with the exhibition this year," said Leon Mei, Alvic Group’s manager in China.
But perhaps the happiest of them all was show organizer, Koelnmesse.
"We are very pleased with the development of CIFM / interzum guangzhou and the full recognition from the furniture manufacturing industry. The adjustment in hall allocation this year is a new attempt and the enthusiastic response of both exhibitors and visitors is very heartening. We will continue to maintain this momentum of development and break new grounds to better meet exhibitor demands," stressed the company’s vice-president for Asia Pacific, Michael Dreyer.
At the other end of the venue, running concurrently with the exhibition was the Green Home Design Forum which pulled the attention of local and foreign industry veterans from associations, senior management of manufacturers, technical gurus, and top interior and industrial designers get together to explore issues revolving around the development of low carbon emission and environmental friendly furniture industry as well as ‘green’ design concepts and culture.
A rousing speech centering the environmental credentials of American hardwoods delivered by Michael Snow, executive director of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) was well received and drew active discussions among the delegates.
On the hardwood trade in the US and AHEC’s participation at interzum guangzhou, Mr. Snow noted: “It’s no secret that the economy in America and Europe has been very slow for the last couple of years, particularly within the United States, and this makes the exports for the American hardwood industry very important. In fact, now a great number of the companies in this industry are exporters, 10 years ago maybe 15% were exporters, but now exports have become the primary driver for production in the United States, and over that time China has become by far the biggest single market for American hardwood.
"interzum guangzhou creates a great opportunity for the American hardwood export companies to meet with particularly furniture and flooring manufacturers from not only China, but also from around the region, and make lots of good one-and-one connections. It’s always a good opportunity for me to bring new information to the marketplace through the seminar of the fair."
The next edition of CIFM / interzum guangzhou will once again be held from Mar 27-30 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex (Pazhou) in Guangzhou, China.
www.interzum-guangzhou.com
CIFM / interzum guangzhou 2012
27-30 March 2012
China Import and Export Fair Complex (Pazhou)
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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 the premier international furniture production trade show in the world.
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.
