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Trendsetters at ZOW 2007 in Bad Salzuflen: Furniture Industry Suppliers? Showcase for Product Premieres
From February 26 through March 1, 2007, around 700 international exhibitors made the 13th ZOW - Zuliefermesse Ost-Westfalen [East Westphalia Supplier Show] their official showcase to premiere their latest developments. This significant show date in the German furniture industry's calendar for its current product development cycle attracted close to 16,000 trade visitors. Market experts were at the sold-out Bad Salzuflen Exhibition Center to bring themselves comprehensively up-to-date with supplier innovations for the furniture and interior design industries.
Top Quality functional and decorative Fittings
Fittings manufacturers impressed visitors with their current product lines based on technically proven solutions in top design quality for drawers, drawer systems, shutters and doors. For a long time now, suppliers have not had to "bang on" about their products, with air glide runners, soft and quiet dampening of closing mechanisms as well as self-closing functions now taking care of all that! Wear-free materials, hygienic coatings, space-saving installation widths and flexible mechanisms for adjustment and variability are now supplied as standard across an extremely diverse range of applications. These installation-friendly systems are equally ideal for initial installation as they are for refits. For handleless front panels, manufacturers have developed user-friendly fittings solutions which are easy and safe to operate, needing just a light touch.
In the decorative fittings segment, the current vogue is for high metallic gloss or a metallic look. A greater optical impact can be achieved with handles and knobs designed with a mix of materials - for example, metal combined with striking surface features in wood and leather. Straight lines in metal handles are as trendy as ever and are now joined by asymmetrical shapes.
Design Quality in Surfaces and Décors
Top value and design quality are the key factors for surfaces and front panel products. The dramatic visual effects offered by walnut and native fruit tree woods, such as cherry, apple, pear and plum, remain in vogue for décors, but there's also a huge demand for exotic woods such as teak, zebra wood and palisander. The coarser grained varieties are also popular with their streaked elegance and vibrant character. Staying with this style are foils currently being produced in natural colors with strong light and dark contrasts or which lead the way with powerful mono-colors, such as aubergine or blue. Manufacturers are offering an amazing abundance of new stone and metal décors or surface effect overlays for use in the more discerning home interiors, offices or prestigious exhibition stand design.
More Light in Furniture
Light is once again gaining ground as a design feature for furniture. Here different light sources can be utilized to produce a lighting mix. For all lighting, the trend is towards small products with high light output, pleasant light tones, the absolute minimum in heat radiation and extremely long service life. Wide-ranging freedom in design brings in LEDs, halogen spotlights and luminescent fabrics, for example, all of which are suitable for use in many areas of interior design.
Future Themes: Lightweight Construction, Logistics and Direct Print
As well as a compact and comprehensive market overview, exhibitors and visitors to ZOW were able to derive a wealth of information and inspiration for their own use from the special events. Show organizer, Bielefeld-based Survey Marketing + Consulting GmbH & Co. KG's own initiatives and its enthusiastic joint projects with partners bestowed an even greater diversity than ever on this year's ZOW.
A totally revolutionary future is being predicted by industry experts for the lightweight construction sector. New developments in industrial manufacturing technology could lead to a paradigm shift in furniture construction in the foreseeable future. Especially for flat-pack furniture, the industry sees great potential in "lightweights". These new openings in lightweight construction were given an impressive introduction at ZOW by the "lightweight.network", an open network set up by the Egger, Hettich and Rehau companies. The theme of logistics was granted its own forum for the first time with an attractive and extremely well-attended program of specialist presentations, and this platform is set to return at ZOW in 2008 as a firm fixture.
A further success proved to be the new show features highlighting the opportunities on offer from the latest direct printing technology. Equally attractive among the trade public was the E3S special exhibition - the international trade forum for solid surfaces and engineering stone.
35 international manufacturers, craftsmen and suppliers of solid surfaces, engineered stone and components produced from these materials presented their wares in the dedicated E3S exhibition space at ZOW.
New Visitor Groups and a new Product Award
Architects and interior designers are discovering the diversity of themes at ZOW more and more for themselves. ZOW Architects' Days offered a direct approach to this target group throughout the duration of the show. Around 800 visitors from the profession took advantage of the special architectural events at ZOW, organized by Survey in collaboration with external partners.
At this year's central venue, the "Architectural Lounge" in Hall 23.2., were presentations by the BDIA [German Interior Designers Association], architecture journal DETAIL, Hanover-based iF International Forum Design and Material Connexion Cologne. Rounding off the range of events on offer was a program of seminars and guided tours of ZOW based on specific themes. Due to the massive visitor response, the ZOW program for the architects and interior designers target group will be expanded next year.
Also at ZOW, the first ten prize-winners of the new "M Technology Award" - organized by iF were announced. This annual award - organized by show organizer, Survey, in cooperation with iF International Forum Design and "M" Magazine - honors innovative products and services in the supplier sector. A successor to the "ZOW Innovations Scouting" initiative, the competition is also open to non-exhibitors and makes an important contribution to increasing market transparency at an international level. This year's prize-winners are listed online at www.m-in-black.de, www.zow.info and www.ifdesign.de
The next ZOW takes place February 25-28, 2008, at
the Bad Salzuflen Exhibition Center.
For further information on ZOW, please go to www.zow.de