Milan milestones: Acimall observes its 40th anniversary by preparing to co-host the 20th edition of Xylexpo/Sasmil at the sleek new Fiera Milano.

A new state-of-the-art exhibition complex awaits exhibitors and visitors participating in the 20th edition of Xylexpo/Sasmil. Europe's premiere international woodworking event of the year takes place May 16-20 at the Fiera Milano in Rho, a northwest suburb of Milan, Italy.

Fiera Milano opened its doors in September 2005, two years after construction of the nearly $900 million project designed by architect Massimiliano Fuksas began. It features eight pavilions with 3.7 million gross square meters of undercover exhibition area, plus an additional 645,000 square meters of outdoor display space.

The Fiera Milano's column-free buildings were designed with technological fairs like Xylexpo in mind. The facility features data lines and compressed air accessed from below the show floor, connecting tunnels between the pavilions and Wi-Fi throughout the fairgrounds. Amenities for visitors include a wide variety of restaurants and concession areas, plus a covered moving walkway for transporting pedestrians quickly along the main thoroughfare that cuts through the center of the fairgrounds.

Free Registration

In observation of the co-located exhibitions' milestone, show management is offering free registration. Some 90,000 woodworking professionals--about half of them from outside of Italy--are expected to attend, according to Paolo Zanibon, general secretary of Xylexpo.

As of Jan. 20, the international exhibition of woodworking technology and supplies had enlisted 632 exhibitors, including 192 from outside of Italy, covering 750,000 net square feet. That is 64,500 square feet more of displays than in 2004, putting space sales in position to break the record of 762,000 square feet set in 2000.

Xylexpo will occupy eight halts. Six of them will be dedicated to panel processing, one to solid wood machinery and one to primary operations. In addition, forest equipment will be displayed in outdoor areas for the first time at Xylexpo.

Xylexpo is sponsored by ACIMALL, the Italian Woodworking Machinery Assn. ACIMALL is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Its 215 members represent approximately 90 percent of the production of Italian woodworking machinery. Grazia Finocchiaro, Acimall vice president, said production of Italian woodworking equipment is expected to increase by 4 percent up to approximately $1.93 billion. About 80 percent of all Italian-made woodworking machinery and tools is exported.

'Not Going to Surrender'

Sasmil, meanwhile, features 86,000 square feet of net exhibit space, a huge drop from the 229,000 square feet it featured in 2004. The supply exhibition is facing intense competition for exhibitors from ZOW Italy, held each October in Pordenone.

Rosario Messina, president of Cosmit, sponsor of Sasmil, said, "Cosmit is not going to surrender. That fact that we are going to have fewer exhibitors does not change an undisputed truth: at Fiera Milano, visitors can meet all of their partners and find all the answers."

Luciano Caspani, Sasmil coordinator, added, "Sasmil is a leading international event because of its tight ongoing collaboration with Xylexpo ... It is undoubtedly the ultimate showcase of 'made in Italy.'

For more information about Xylexpo, visit www.xylexpo.com. For more information about Sasmil, visit www.sasmil.it.