Interwood Woodworking Machinery Show to be the Biggest Ever

The Taipei International Woodworking Machinery and Supplies Show (Interwood Taipei) will be held on July 4-7 this year, offering a wide range of exhibits including sawing, molding and planing, boring, drilling, turning, sanding, joining, forming, gluing, and coating machines, along with portable tools, cutters and accessories, raw materials, and other related products.

Displays at the triennial event, to be held in an exhibition hall of the Taipei World Trade Center, will be divided into four areas: Local Woodworking Machinery, Overseas Woodworking Machinery & Supplies, Woodworking Supplies, and Trade Media & Associations.

The last Interwood Taipei, held in 2005, was a huge success with 965 booths and participation by 3,826 domestic and foreign companies. Of that total, 2,995 were domestic buyers and vendors, and 831 were international buyers. This participation represented a 39% growth compared with the previous show, in 2002, with a huge growth in numbers from Russia, Mexico, and India. These numbers made it one of the three biggest woodworking machinery exhibitions in Asia.

Most of the woodworking machinery made in Taiwan is exported. In terms of production the island is the fourth-largest supplier in the world, after Germany, Italy, and the United States; in exports it is third, following Germany and Italy. The main overseas markets are North America, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and sales to less-developed area such as India, Turkey, Russia, and Eastern Europe are now being promoted as well.

Despite the emergence of new competing suppliers, Taiwan still has strong competitive advantages thanks to its outstanding labor force, international reputation, and strong peripheral parts and accessories industry. Much of the industry is concentration in the central part of the island, where manufacturers have established a central-satellite factory system and a comprehensive division of labor.

Taiwan-made woodworking machines are known for their good quality and reasonable price. Manufacturers in the line will soon take the lead in upgrading the industry by presenting a series of automatic machines.

More than 140 companies had already registered by 930 booths by the end of December, and a number of them are taking more than 20 booths each: Champ Fond, Anderson Group, Tai Chan Machinery Industrial, Jun Shiau Machinery, Leadermac, Technik Associates, and CPT International.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council will be hosting a Cross-Strait Woodworking Machinery and Supplies Show in conjunction with Interwood Taipei; this will boost even further the number of booths at the show, which is now expected to exceed 1,000. The booths are going fast, and interested exhibitors should register as soon as possible.

For more information on the show, please visit http://www.interwoodtaipei.com.tw or contract Mr. Min-ming Yang of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council's Exhibition Department at these numbers:

Tel: 886-2-2725-5200, Ext. 2876

Fax: 886-2-2725-1959

E-mail: Olivier@taitra.org.tw.