IWF Offers Opportunities
for Key Business Alliances

Whether you manufacture domestically or source offshore, you should be familiar with the most current woodworking machinery and technology available in the world today. You should know what advancements might enable you to produce your products better or faster. And you should be taking advantage of the latest innovations in equipment and materials – innovations that could help your company gain or maintain its competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

For these reasons, manufacturing executives from all around the world will converge on the Georgia World Congress Center August 23-26 for the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair. The largest event of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, IWF will feature nearly 1,400 exhibitors, including some 250 first-timers. Attendees from companies large and small will uncover new ways to improve their manufacturing processes and stay ahead of their competition during this four-day event in Atlanta.

The American Home Furnishings Alliance has been a sponsor of IWF since the show’s inception in 1966. In 2006, the convergence of global sourcing, changing business models, new competition and shifting channels of retail distribution make IWF more important than ever before. As we prepare for the 2006 Fair, market indicators offer no clear prediction for future business conditions, but they do point to the need for innovation, efficiency and unprecedented resourcefulness. Buyers from more than 70 countries will attend IWF to find new resources to help them survive and profit despite the mixed bag of economic and industry indicators.

Attendees also will have the opportunity to observe live, how-to demonstrations of machinery, supplies and services and to attend how-to technical seminars.

Among the seminars is an 8:30 a.m. panel discussion on August 25 moderated by AHFA’s CEO Andy Counts. In addition to representatives from WMMA and WMIA, the panel will include Sharon Kneiss, president of regulatory affairs for the American Forest Paper Association, who will relay full results of the Respiratory Health Study of Wood Dust recently completed by Tulane University Medical Center. A full schedule of technical seminars offered during IWF is available online at www.iwf2006.com.

Be sure to visit these AHFA Supplier Division Companies at the 2006 International Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Supply Fair, August 23-26 at the Georgia World Congress Center
in Atlanta.

AUTON Motorized Systems, (Bldg. A, Hall A3, Booth 3637) manufacturer of motorized TV lifts, has teamed with Valencia, Calif.-based Strategic Modularity to deploy a new “lean manufacturing – value stream” program. Strategic Modularity is a facility automation management and client advocate company. Borrowed from the “visual factory” concept used by Toyota for five decades, AUTON’s lean manufacturing program has helped increase production from six units per day to 14 units per day, while adding only three additional workers in the process. The company is now experiencing its fastest growth rate in its 51-year history. AUTON manufactures rack and pinion systems used to hide and reveal a wide variety of products, including plasma and LCD televisions, traditional televisions, speakers, paintings and art panels. (www.auton.com)

Casco Adhesives, part of the Industrial Finishes division within Akzo Nobel (Bldg. A, Hall A3, Booth 2807) is one of the world’s leading producers of wood adhesives. The company focuses on the woodworking industry, with a primary emphasis on structural timber for load bearing constructions, flooring, furniture, doors and windows. In addition to adhesives, Casco produces application equipment. The company also offers widely respected expertise though its technical personnel. (www.cascoadhesives.com)

Chemical Coatings Inc., part of the RPM Wood Finishes Group (Bldg. A, Hall A2, Booth 2563), offers unbeatable combinations, color design and coatings technology. Traditional, acid-cure, cutting edge waterborne and UV products are offered to meet demanding finishing needs. (www.rpmwfg.com)

Columbia Forest Products (Bldg. A, Hall A3, Booth 3067) will launch a new line of cost-neutral, formaldehyde-free, veneer-core hardwood plywood panels called PureBond™ at IWF2006. PureBond offers superior moisture resistance to standard urea formaldehyde-based plywood. The formaldehyde-free panels are currently being produced in three of Columbia’s largest plywood mills and are available in all North American markets through standard distribution. (www.columbiaforestproducts.com)

Chemetal/ The October Company (Bldg. A, Hall A1, Booth 1700) will exhibit a variety of accessories for the furniture, custom closet and woodworking industries, including anti-tarnish cutlery trays, jewel trays, shelf dividers, valet rods and drawer dividers. Also being exhibited are gold tooled leather tops, speaker grilles, cork boards, tack boards and tie bars. In addition, The October Company will feature acrylic wine storage units, shoe storage and stacking acrylic jewel trays. (www.chemetalco.com)

Coveright Surfaces (Bldg. A, Hall A1, Booth 1437) is a manufacturer of surfacing materials for decorative and technical applications in the woodworking, furniture, flooring and automotive industries. Decorative melamine films are widely used by composite panel manufacturers for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, cupboards, closet systems, shelving, desks and other furniture applications. To meet our customer’s requirements from design to delivery, we offer an extensive range of high quality products and customized solutions, broad production and distribution capabilities, and customer support. Our decorative melamine films provide durability in a wide range of design and color options. (www.coveright.com)

Delmac Machinery Group (Bldg. C, Hall C2, Booth 8806) will have Busellato CNC Machining Centers, Busellato CNC Routers, Celaschi Single End Tenoners, Fravol edgebanders, Mayer Panel Sawsand OMAL Bore, Glue and Dowel machines on display for demonstration at IWF 2006. Delmac, located in Greensboro, N.C., is a U.S. sales and service organization representing several European manufacturers of high technology woodworking equipment. Contact gbolton@delmac.com for additional information. (www.delmac.com)

Dynabrade Inc. (Bldg. A, Hall A3, Booth 3349), will introduce the Dynabug II finishing sander with clips at IWF 2006. The lightweight tool is ideal for vertical sanding applications. It uses a 10,000-RPM air motor and features a small, 3/32-inch diameter orbit, which makes it an excellent choice for sanding into corners of drawers and cabinets. A variety of accessories are available, including air lines, abrasives, sanding pads, vacuum systems and more. Made in the U.S. (www.dynabrade.com)

Friedman Corporation (Bldg. B, Hall B1, Booth 4658) is a recognized leader in integrated enterprise software solutions focusing on the needs of the configure-to-order furniture manufacturer. Friedman’s Frontier® ERP solution can achieve the following enterprise-wide benefits: Improved responsiveness to customers; reduced order cycle times; increased speed of production; access to real-time data and eBusiness solutions; tighter inventory control; enhanced order entry processes; smarter business management; and decreased operation costs. Friedman Corporation’s results are reflected in the amount of successful implementations in the furniture industry. (www.friedmancorp.com)

FS Tool Corporation (Bldg. C, Hall C1, Booth 8352) introduces the next generation panel saw blades, offering up to five times longer run time over conventional blades and innovative diamond routers for nesting applications. Custom insert and diamond tooling is offered with rapid delivery and is engineered for optimum performance. (www.fstool.com)

Hafele America Co. (Bldg. A, Hall A2, Booth 2207) introduces Eku Soft and Silent dampener for large sliding doors. Compatible for doors created of various materials, this surface mounted mechanism is capable of controlling sliding doors up to 99 pounds. In addition, the Tab-A Honeycomb panel connector works in honeycomb panels without framing materials, eliminating the need for gluing material joints. Also, the OneFix connector provides furniture manufacturers with a single piece connector that makes ordering and storage easier. It is effective and cost efficient for both production and assembly. (www.hafeleamericas.com)

Hickory Springs (Bldg. A, Hall A2, Booth 2410), founded in 1944, provides polyurethane foam, fiber, metal components and supplies to the furniture, bedding and automotive industries. The company’s technical expertise in metal forming, wire drawing, textile converting, stamping, shearing, riveting, welding, plating, painting, assembly, foam pouring/fabrication and fiber batting production facilitates the ability to quickly and efficiently produce a growing number of products and supplies for a variety of industries. (www.hickorysprings.com)

Leggett and Platt (Bldg. A, Hall A2, Booth 2237) offers hardware and motion mechanisms for recliners and sleeper sofas, coil and Matrex webbing seating systems, upholstery supplies, foam and fiber, and controls and components for both residential and contract office furniture. (www.leggett.com)

Matrex, a Leggett and Platt Company (Bldg. A, Hall A2, Booth 2237), will introduce several new upholstering materials, equipment and manufacturing concepts. The Cinch-Loc cord tape and upholstery press will be demonstrated. Using the Cinch-Lok method, manufacturers can increase seat upholstering rate, save fabric and reduce labor costs. The new 2XAT elastic webbing application machine also will be demonstrated. The 2XAT can produce up to 400 sofas per day with improved consistency, using only one operator. A new method to replace cut and sewn cushion ticking also will be introduced. The Tic-Net machine and knit fabric encapsulates cushions in a simple operation eliminating high cost materials and the need for skilled labor. Matrex will also show the new No-Sag Gripper, an extruded polypropylene clip for high-end sinuous wire installation that provides improved noise control and a pivot assisted ride.

Nester Software Technologies (Bldg. B, Hall B1, Booth 4271) will be featuring NESTERwood software, which enables upholstery manufacturers to be more competitive by increasing material utilization, improving machine productivity and shortening manufacturing cycle times. NESTERwood is used by leading upholstery manufacturers worldwide, including Airline Manufacturing, Bassett Furniture, Century Furniture, Drexel Heritage, Ethan Allen, and Southern Furniture. (www.NesterSoftware.com)

Pollmeier (Bldg. B, Hall B1, Booth 4553) will showcase its lightly steamed European Beech, which is gaining popularity with cabinet, furniture and millwork manufacturers with the recent cost increases and limited availability of cherry, walnut and genuine mahogany, and the increased demand for close-grain woods like hard maple, birch and alder. This European Beech has a light natural look but can emulate a number of different hardwoods with just a simple change in the color of stain, enabling wood manufacturers to easily meet the ever-changing demands of the marketplace with minimal disruption to the overall manufacturing process. Beech has an attractive grain, is color uniform, machines well and is readily available at a moderate price. (www.pollmeier.com)

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