Visitor numbers to the Carrefour International du Bois exhibition in Nantes, France, last week were up by more than 5%, despite an increasingly tough European timber market.
According to the show’s international co-ordinator Sam Padden, attendance over the three days was 9,528, 500 ahead of the last event in 2006.
“This was very encouraging as the market isn’t exactly flourishing and we also had to close our doors for three hours on the Thursday because of a dockers protest in Nantes,” she said. “The feedback from exhibitors about visitor numbers was very positive and they also commented on attendance from abroad too, which was up as well. In fact, we’ve already had some companies book for 2010.”
Ms Padden attributed the success of the show, which focuses exclusively on timber, in part to the increasing international spread of exhibitors. Overseas companies made up a quarter of the total, compared to 23% two years ago – and the number of stands overall was also ahead at 507 compared to 468.
“We were worried that people would be morose due to the economic situation, but we came away from the show feeling reassured,” said Michel Hamon, president of the Brittany timber trade organisation Atlanbois, one of the organisations behind the show.
A full report follows in a forthcoming issue of TTJ.
