News

Record Number of Exhibitors at 12th ZOW in Bad Salzuflen
Successful Premiere in new Halls

ZOW has had a makeover. After a mere five and a half months of construction work, suppliers to the furniture industry were delighted to present their product innovations for the first time at the extended and modernized exhibition center in Bad Salzuflen from February 20 to 23. More than 700 exhibitors from 39 different countries and about 16,000 international trade visitors made this - the biggest get-together so far for the furniture supply industry in East Westphalia - another successful event.

Furniture industry suppliers can expect great things as they go into the new financial year. That was the mood of exhibitors after four successful show days at ZOW. Event organizer Survey had already laid the foundations for a successful ZOW 2006 with the restructuring of exhibition space in Halls 19 to 23 and in providing show hospitality on a grand scale. The availability of additional space in Halls 22 and 23 enabled 710 international exhibitors (previous year = 566) to present their wares over a total area of 41,000 m² (28,000 m²). This time, more than half of the companies attending - 54.4% (386 exhibitors) - came from abroad. Italy formed the largest contingent with 140 companies, followed by Spain (39) and Austria (26).

Flattered by high Visitor Numbers

In terms of visitors, the previous year's figure of approx 14,000 was again significantly exceeded, with 15,620 coming from home and abroad - an increase of around 15 %. The ratio of German visitors to visitors from abroad was 2 to 1, with most of the international trade visitors coming from the Benelux countries, Great Britain and Poland. When broken down into regions of origin, 26% of visitors traveled from EU countries, while other European countries accounted for 5% altogether.

With a strong opening day on Monday and a 23.7 % increase on visitor attendance on the previous year, Tuesday and Wednesday (with increases of 21 % and 18 % resp.) were the main show days at ZOW - further proof of the increasing interest this meeting holds for suppliers worldwide. An important area of development in 2007 will be travel access, according to Survey, who intend to make further improvements in transport planning for next year's event.

E3S: Debut for exclusive special Exhibition

2006 welcomed the premiere of the E3S (European Solid Surface Show & Engineered Stone Exhibition) special exhibition as a firm fixture and logical addition for ZOW. Around 30 international manufacturers and craftsmen of materials, solid surfaces and engineered stone products exhibited their wares over a total surface area of 5,000 m². One of this year's innovations is a manufacturing process for pipe surfaces using a high-quality and extremely flame-resistant natural material. The material is available in a huge variety of optical qualities and meets the requirements for application in interior design and exhibition set-up, as well as shop and ships' fittings.

Exquisite Innovations at Innovations Scouting 2006

For the fourth time in a row now, an expert jury of manufacturers and fabricators selected the top ten innovations that sparked their interest from among furniture suppliers. More than 90 exhibitors (compared with 70 the year before) entered their innovations for the event. The nominations which caught the expert panel's eye this year with regard to design, functionality and sheer novelty came from Bausch-Dekor, Dekodur, Döllken, Halemeier, Hettich Marketing- und Vertriebs-GmbH, Insta, Mehling & Wiesmann, Moralt, Naber and Richter. All the 2006 entries are published on the internet at www.zow.de/en/innovations-scouting-index.html

ZOW Architects' Day generates plenty of Interest

A new highlight to debut at this year's ZOW was Architects' Day. On February 23, the last show day at ZOW, exhibitors had the opportunity to introduce their specialist know-how and product ranges directly to designers and decision-makers and receive feedback. More than 200 architects took up the invitation to attend a day of professional seminars at ZOW including our hands-on "Material Test".

It was an equally "full house" in the new ZOW Symposium Room for "Von Sinn des Details" [An instinct for detail], an inspiring technical lecture by the famous Viennese architect, Roman Delugan, of Delugan Meissl Associated Architects in Vienna. The panel discussion that followed, moderated by Thomas Willemeit of Graft in Berlin, tackled the question of how to improve communication between industry and the architecture community. On the panel were Roman Delugan representing design professionals, Martin Staaks of Naber and Fritz Prommersberger of Hettich as exhibitors at ZOW, as well as Peter H. Meyer of Survey. After personal tours of ZOW and visits to exhibitors' stands for an intensive exchange of ideas, many of the architects and designers expressed their surprise and delight at the multitude and quality of the presentations, which had produced a wealth of new inspiration and contacts for both parties. In view of the successful launch in 2006, it is planned to hold a further "Architects' Day at ZOW" next year.

For all of you who are already making plans for next year, the next ZOW will take place from February 26 through March 1, 2007 at the Messezentrum Ostwestfalen (East Westphalia Exhibition Center) in Bad Salzuflen.

For further information about ZOW, please go to www.zow.de and for E3S go to www.e3s.info