AIMSAD Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and EUMABOIS Board Member Mustafa Sabri Erol and AIMSAD General Secretary Arif Onur Kaçak attended the annual general assembly meeting of the European Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers Federation (EUMABOIS) on 5 November 2021 in Vienna. Speaking at the meeting, Mustafa Sabri Erol stated that the fairs that were canceled due to the pandemic should be held face to face.

The annual general meeting of EUMABOIS was held in Vienna on 5 November 2021. After the first digital general assembly of EUMABOIS in 2020, delegates and board members met again with EUMABOIS President Jürgen Köppel and Vice President Luigi De Vito, hosted by the Austrian Association FMTI. The agenda of the meeting was the general outlook of the woodworking industry, which has shown a rapid and very positive recovery. It was noted at the meeting that although the woodworking industry is suffering from high material costs and lack of raw materials, it points to a sustainable growth rate in the medium term. It was pointed out that the global demand, which remained high despite the crisis triggered by the Corona virus, increased the resilience of the sector. During the plenary session, it was said that megatrends such as digitalization and industrial automation, along with travel restrictions, increased demand for home furnishings and kitchens have contributed greatly to the woodworking industry.

Data on the Turkish woodworking machinery industry was shared

At the meeting, Mustafa Sabri Erol, Vice Chairman of AIMSAD and Member of EUMABOIS Board of Directors, shared information on the Turkish woodworking machinery industry; “We held the WoodTech Fair between 9-13 October. While the cancellation decision was taken for many international organizations and fairs due to the pandemic, we successfully held our fair by taking all our precautions. More than 50 thousand people visited our fair, which received the appreciation of both participants and visitors. Based on this experience, we think that the fairs that have been canceled for two years in Europe due to the pandemic should now be held face-to-face.”

HolzHandwerk and Xylexpo to be reorganized

Despite the pandemic, the WoodTech Fair, which has been held successfully for two years without a break, has been shown as proof that such organizations should be held face to face. In this direction, it was decided to reorganize the HolzHandwerk Fair, which was canceled due to the pandemic and held in Nuremberg, in March, and the Xylexpo Fair, which was held in Milan, in October.

At the meeting held in Vienna, the completely renewed EUMABOIS website was also introduced. It has been decided that the next EUMABOIS General Assembly will be held in Krakow, Poland, on 22-23 September 2022.