IWF reports attendance

The 2022 International Woodworking Fair, held Aug. 23-26 in Atlanta, drew more than 25,000 visitors, according to a post-show statement from the show’s organizers.

“IWF 2022 exhibits and displays occupied over 663,000 square feet of the over 1.2 million square feet of all three Georgia World Congress Center and the B/C exhibit hall, and housed more than 900 exhibitors presenting operating machinery, services and supplies in more than 540 product categories,” the IWF said in an Oct. 12 release.

“After a four-year pause, the 2022 show produced a total registered attendance of 25,524 with attendees drawn from every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and 92 countries and provinces. IWF 2022 set an all-time record of first-time attendee registrants with more than 48 percent new.”

The AWFS has issued a Call for Entries for its Fresh Wood student furniture competition, open to high school and post-secondary students in accredited woodworking or related programs.

The competition has a theme, “Small Projects”, selected to encourage new schools and students to enter.

“We realize that some schools and students may have less resources, less time, and less support”, says Fresh Wood committee member Mei-Yen Shipek. “Encouraging more small projects will open the doors to a broader range of students and remove barriers associated with building traditional, large furniture projects.”

The Small Project category is for projects that are 1 cubic foot or smaller in overall size. There are no restrictions on style, but the project should be made primarily from wood.

Five other entry categories make up the Fresh Wood competition: Case Goods, Seating, Tables, Design for Production, and an Open category, in which projects can be made of any material and there are no size restrictions. In the Design for Production category, students must design a functional item manufactured out of one 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood and all structural wood components must nest inside of and be cut from the same sheet.

The Cabinet Makers Association has announced the keynote speakers for its 25th anniversary national conference, scheduled for March 8-10, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.

The opening keynote speaker, Kevin McNulty, is a leadership strategist and coach with three decades of experience advising major organizations such as Jack Daniel’s, NASA, and the Department of Defense. McNulty is the founder of Humadyn-Life Skills Institute, a company that specializes in developing skills such as leadership, customer service, team building, and conflict management.

The closing keynote speaker, Doug Tatum, is Chairman of Newport LLC, a national partnership of CEOs and senior executives who advise emerging middle market companies and assist private equity firms.

Cyncly has acquired Mozaik Software, a software provider for the custom cabinet market.

“The acquisition expands Cyncly’s global coverage of the spaces for living ecosystem by complementing our existing solution suite in the kitchen, bathroom and furniture manufacturing segment and establishes a strong presence in the North American custom cabinet market,” the company said.