IWF partners with European group

The International Woodworking Fair (IWF) has established a cooperation agreement with the European Federation of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers (EUMABOIS) for the purpose of expanding IWF’s global reach and enhancing its services extended to the European woodworking industry.

Under the cooperation agreement, IWF becomes the sole North American woodworking trade show designated as a EUMABOIS-supported exhibition. Their collaborative efforts will encompass strategic joint marketing communications initiatives executed for the mutual benefit of their respective customers and constituencies, according to the IWF.

The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) is firming up the agenda for its 47th annual convention & trade show, scheduled for Nov. 5-7 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Mike Holmes, professional contractor and TV host, will keynote STAFDA’s general session on Nov. 6. It will be a moderated program with STAFDA president and fellow Canadian Harry Klassen of Fastek Inc. in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Registration for STAFDA Convention & Trade Show opens June 26 at stafda.org. Attendance is limited to STAFDA members.

After more than a decade of continuous growth, annual spending on improvements and repairs to owner-occupied homes is expected to decline by early next year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The LIRA projects that year-over-year expenditures for homeowner improvements and maintenance will post a modest decline of 2.8 percent through the first quarter of 2024.

“Higher interest rates and sharp downturns in homebuilding and existing home sales are driving our projections for sluggish remodeling activity next year,” Carlos Martín, the program’s project director, said in a statement. “With ongoing uncertainty in financial markets and the threat of a recession, homeowners are increasingly likely to pare back or delay projects beyond necessary replacements and repairs.”

“Homeowner improvement and maintenance spending is expected to top out at $458 billion in the coming year, compared with market spending of $471 billion over the past four quarters,” added Abbe Will, the program’s associate project director. “However, strong and steady growth in the number of homes permitted for remodeling projects, as well as a slew of federal incentives for energy-efficiency retrofits may yet buoy remodeling expenditure from steeper declines.”

The International Wood Products Association (IWPA) declared the 2023 World of Wood Convention a success. It featured more than 250 importers, U.S. manufacturers, wholesalers, offshore suppliers, and service providers to the global wood products industry from 21 countries.

“A big thank you to all of our attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and the City of Savannah for making the 2023 World of Wood a tremendous hit,” Ashley Amidon, IWPA’s executive director, said in a statement. “We look forward to building on our success at next year’s World of Wood at the beautiful Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego.” 

This article was originally published in the June 2023 issue.