by 7th edition of event to showcase products, services of a broad mix of furniture industry suppliers
HICKORY, N.C. — The seventh edition of the Furniture Manufacturing Expo is set for June 13-14 at the Hickory Metro Convention Center, offering equipment and service suppliers a chance to show their latest products and technologies to industry manufacturing partners looking to increase efficiencies that can help grow their businesses.
The show looks to duplicate the success of last year’s event which featured close to 100 exhibitors, making it the largest since the inception of the show a few years before the pandemic. Examples of exhibitors include manufacturers and suppliers of fabric and leather cutting equipment, mechanisms, hardware and components, sewing equipment, lumber, wood components such as turnings and plywood, packaging equipment, adhesives, springs, findings and trims, webbing, foam and more.
Indeed, the event has become increasingly important to manufacturers that experienced supply chain challenges during the pandemic, but have returned to an environment of greater stability in the past 12-18 months or more. The show offers them not only a chance to see the newest products in their sectors, but also meet face to face with their suppliers to take advantage of new equipment and opportunities to work together for the balance of the year ahead and beyond.
“Any company involved in domestic furniture manufacturing stands to benefit from this show,” said Stephanie Everett, chief operating officer and a partner with Exposition Development Co., the owners of the event that have been involved since the very first launch in 2017. “The combination of being exposed to new innovations, learning ways to improve efficiencies, networking with key suppliers and other key industry manufacturers are all important benefits.”
She emphasized that the networking is a key benefit of the show based on communications from those who have attended in the past.
“This of course aids in staying current with any challenges or issues foreseen by the front-line supply chain partners,” she said. “It also can be important training for employees involved in the day-to-day production process. Furniture Manufacturing Expo offers solutions to the manufacturing process that weren’t readily available in the past. The beauty of these events is they create efficiencies that can simply not be achieved without the larger collective face-to-face interaction that Furniture Manufacturing Expo offers.”
Another key element of the show is the educational programming available through seminars and presentations. For example, on June 13, there is a woodworking component featuring presentations on various woodworking equipment and processes, while the second day features an upholstery component that discusses subjects such as upholstery technology, fabric matching and the manufacture of outdoor cushions. An overview of the educational program can be found here.
A happy hour event is also scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13, on the show floor and is open to all attendees and exhibitors.
Everett acknowledges that the show is occurring during a challenging time for the industry, particularly as “higher home mortgage rates have slowed down the buying process.”
It’s an issue that has impacted traffic and sales at retail stores, not to mention the ability of manufacturers and importers to land new products on the floor at retail. Ultimately, that also impacts the sale of new equipment and services to wholesalers and retailers alike.
That said, Everett noted, “Challenging years are the best time to exhibit or attend a show as it allows the opportunity to connect with suppliers and peers to network and discuss insights and solutions on how to stay ahead of these issues. The investment of time alone will pay off when business cycles back. And it eventually does always cycle back.”
As an aside, Everett said, this is the first year the show is not open to suppliers that should be exhibiting and instead only want to walk the show floor.
“With this show serving a niche segment of the supply chain, there is a limited target of exhibitors and attendees, so show management has been working on increasing the quality of show attendees/buyers to ensure that exhibitors are seeing the maximum return on investment. … This is to protect the paying exhibitors and ensure they have the opportunity to see buyers.”
To learn more about the show and to register, visit www.furnituremanufacturingexpo.com. The link also has a list of exhibitors, a section with frequently asked questions and a list of area hotels where attendees can stay.
