AWFS Fair sets new records; move to Las Vegas proves to be a winner.

More than 24,000 woodworking industry-related professionals attended the first AWFS Fair in Las Vegas, including a record of 17,045 verified attendees.

According to the Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers, sponsor of the event, verified total attendance--a de-duped count recorded on-site by electronic scanners at registration and badge holder pickup--of 24,289 (including exhibitors) for the Wednesday-through-Saturday show days, July 27 to 30, was up 37% from 2003. Verified attendee numbers increased 22%, for a total of 17,045--the largest attendee crowd in the history of the show.

In addition, AWFS Vegas had the largest exhibit space of any show in its history, with 418,435 net square feet of exhibit space filled with 898 exhibiting companies, nearly a 20% increase in both exhibit space and number of exhibitors from 2003, when the fair was hew in Anaheim, CA.

The demographics for the inaugural Las Vegas event were markedly different from past Anaheim fairs, AWFS reported. While California still represented the Largest group of attendees, attendance from every other state increased dramatically, with 44 of 50 states experiencing triple-digit percentage increases and international attendance more than doubling, with a 134% increase.

"We have achieved our two main goals of increasing our attendance by 20% without sacrificing quality and of making this truly a national, indeed, an international event," said Dale Silverman, executive director of AWFS. "In addition, exhibitors are telling us they've seen more qualified buyers this year than at any other previous AWFS Fair."

"We were extremely pleased to see our attendee numbers up from the Midwest, East and southern states," added Angelo Gangone, AWFS trade show director. "Our western states were up as well."

Exhibitors Chime in 

Several exhibitors indicated they Liked the new venue, the new show days and hours, the convention center and the city itself.

According to Robert Slater, optimizing group manager of the Weinig Group, "This wasn't a good show--it was a great show. It far exceeded our expectations in terms of the actual sales that were generated during the event, as well as the amount of post-show leads that we are following. In addition, we were really excited by the demographic makeup of the attendees. We expected more attendees from the East and Midwest because of the new venue, but could not believe how many customers we met with from all over the country. Also remarkable, we had very steady traffic well into the last day of the show, something that doesn't typically happen on the Last day of any show."

Max Salmi, marketing manager of Biesse America, said, "AWFS Vegas was the best West Coast show Biesse has ever had in its history."

Stephanie Sorrels, marketing manager of Interior Products Inc., also stated, "This was the Largest show in the Last six years in terms of sales Leads generated."

Participation was high for the College of Woodworking Knowledge, increasing by 74% over 2003 fair levels, with 3,722 participants. A total of 44 seminars and SMART programs were offered, in cooperation with many associations and industry trade publications.

The next AWFS Fair is scheduled for July 18 to 21, 2007, in Las Vegas. The show will move to the North and Central halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

For more information, visit www.awfsfair.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: A joyful noise: the "buzz" created by several machinery demonstrations at the AWFS Fair helped produce furniture for a Las Vegas shelter.

By Katie Coleman

The second floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center was a busy place during the AWFS Fair.

Standing near the escalators located at the exhibit floor's mid-point, one's ears vibrated with the overlapping "buzz" of machinery. Exhibitors who demonstrated their machinery capabilities to show-goers went through a good amount of raw materials during the event. But following the non-wasteful mantra of many woodworkers today, AWFS Past President Doug Kemp found a way to put the demonstrations to good use.

Kemp's brainchild, "WoodWORKS for Children," is a program that takes advantage of the materials exhibitors use for demonstrations and coordinates these and other donated components and supplies to produce furniture for charity.

"We have more companies wanting to contribute than we need," Kemp commented on this year's program. "We appreciate the willingness to help out, and it shows that the capacity of the program is really huge."

During the three shows since the program's 1999 inception, more than 630 pieces of furniture and furnishings were donated at an estimated

retail value of $155,000. This year, donations benefited a Las Vegas shelter, The Shade Tree, which provides a safe place for homeless or abused women and children, as well as programs to help the women find employment and permanent housing, and rebuild their lives.

"The furniture we're receiving from WoodWORKS for Children is priceless," said Brenda Dizon, The Shade Tree's executive director. "To receive this furniture and have a group come in and partner with us at a time when we are expanding our facilities is just wonderful."

Altendorf America, a division of Stiles Machinery, was one of the 19 participating companies at this year's show. It produced 20 custom bookcases and 12 contoured tabletops for the cause. "What a great way to utilize demonstration materials and to pool our resources with other suppliers to support projects like The Shade Tree," said Bill Cariano Altendorf's vice president.

The WoodWORKS for Children team worked with The Shade Tree to design various furniture and storage pieces for the shelter's new HOPE [Hope, Opportunities, and Personal development through Education) Center. Both adult and children's furniture were produced at AWFS, including 12 sets of children's tables and chairs, six changing stations, 10 cribs, 20 bookshelves, 20 tables, 20 desks and 15 storage cabinets. In addition, finished bunk beds are being donated through the WoodWORKS program to complete the list of furniture necessities for the new HOPE Center.

Gero Sassenberg of Woodnet Corp. designed all the pieces and prepared engineering specifications, beginning well in advance of the show so that machinery manufacturers could program their equipment. He also coordinated the activities on the floor during the show.

Kemp and Sassenberg said they are looking for volunteers to help assemble and deliver the furniture pieces this fall. Kemp may be contacted at Kemp Hardware, at [phone], or volunteers may call the AWFS office at [phone].

2005 WoodWORKS for Children Participants

Biesse America--machining

Blum--hardware

Collins Products--particleboard

Delmac Machinery Group--machining

Dynea--melamine caner

Frama-Tech--edgebanding

Freeman--logistics support

Freud--tooling

Furnlite--furniture lights

Good Bedrooms--bunk Peas

Hafele America--hardware

Holz-Her U.S.--machining

Kaba-Ilco--locks

Kemp Hardware--hardware

Nevamar--melamine panels

Royal Plywood--MDF

SCM Group USA--machining

Stiles Machinery--machining

Woodnet--design and coordination