The Carrefour International du Bois exhibition (CIB) has reinvented the city of Nantes’ status as a hub for the French, European and wider international timber sectors for the 21st century.
The port of Nantes and Saint Nazaire is historically one of France’s and, indeed, Europe’s leading timber ports, notably a channel for the tropical trade.
Partly as a consequence, the city itself became a core centre for the French furniture manufacturing industry. Today tropical imports may not be such a factor in the region’s economy, and in common with other western countries, France’s furniture industry has contracted in the face of growing lower labour cost competition elsewhere.
But in the biennial CIB, which emerged as a local event out of the region’s timber heritage, it has developed Europe’s largest and arguably most in_ uential timber and wood products show, and an event that is gaining an increasingly global reputation as a timber sector networking, marketing and sales opportunity.
Moreover, with each exhibition, it evolves and grows, and this year (taking place from June 1-3) is no exception. There are more stands and new features and events, highlighting timber’s latest applications in the international marketplace.
“We have 550 exhibitors, up on the last show in 2014, with stands covering 9,000m2 across the five halls, an increase of 13%,” said CIB international marketing director Sam Padden. “We’re also anticipating more visitors than last time at over 10,000.”
Around 35% of exhibitors are from outside France, a rise of 5% and the organisers are also expecting the proportion of visitors from abroad to be ahead of the 22% of 2014. So what’s the big attraction? Ms Padden has no doubt one answer is the same as the show has given since the outset.
“The fact that it’s an exclusively timber event, with no other products distracting or attracting the audience’s attention is still a key factor for us,” she said.
“It means visitors know they’re going to come here and have an undiluted timber experience, and exhibitors know they’re going to see existing and potential customers who are interested exclusively in wood. It works for everyone and makes it a very efficient, valid and worthwhile event for people across the timber sector to attend, make contacts and get current expert news, opinion and feedback.”
The CIB’s proactive global marketing effort also clearly draws visitors and exhibitors alike to the event, but so too, increasingly, does word of mouth.
“The more diverse and international our attendance, the more word spreads about CIB abroad and the more interest we get,” said Ms Padden. “So the show is carried forward under its own momentum.”
New on the international front this year are two more ‘collective stands’ for suppliers from Portugal and the Basque region of Spain.
“There will also be major hardwood and softwood producers from Germany, Scandinavia, the US, Canada, Austria, Spain, Poland and more, as well as supplier/ manufacturers of panel, parquet and other processed products, such as decking and cladding,” said Ms Padden.
Besides a window on the world, the Carrefour is also, of course, a mirror to the large, diverse and dynamic French timber industry.
In the UK France may be known especially as a major hardwood supplier, notably of oak and beech, which of course it is. But as Elisabeth Piveteau of the large softwood sawmiller and outdoor products manufacturer PiveteauBois, commented recently in TTJ, it is also Europe’s joint biggest overall softwood producer and its leading Douglas fir supplier. In fact, it’s harvest of the latter is set to grow from around 2.4 million m3 currently to over 6 million m3 in 15 years.
Adding to the French aspect of the show, there will also be a new group stand for the Limousin region (with others for Burgundy, Brittany, Franche Comté, Poitou Charentes and Central region) and presentations on the state and statistics of the national industry. France additionally boasts an inventive, cutting edge timber manufacturing sector and wood-based construction industry. The former will be reflected in a special ‘Expo event, ‘Timber in Living Spaces’ which will highlight that the French furniture and interiors sector has more than made up in trend-setting technical and style development what it may have lost in scale in the face of cheaper competition.
“The expo will show how this region has now also become a hub for creativity and design,” said Ms Padden.
“It will create links between the use of timber in interior design and construction, bringing together designers, manufacturers architects, builders and developers.”
France is at the forefront in timber and engineered wood building too, with a national government/private sector initiative called Adivbois dedicated to developing ‘exemplar’ projects around the country, notably of medium to high rise buildings. In fact, internationally renowned Canadian architect Michael Green, who has himself put forward the 35-storey Baobab timber building for a Paris construction contest, described the country as “the most dynamic in the world for timber construction” thanks to its combination of government support and architectural, engineering and timber sector skills.
This will be further reflected in the CIB’s linked Techniques & Solutions hall which will focus on latest construction products and systems, both from France and abroad. On June 3 there will also be a day of timber construction workshops for specifiers, engineers and construction professionals. Tying in with this, the show organiser, regional timber sector association Atlanbois, will additionally run visits to latest woodbased developments in and around Nantes in association with the ‘Oui au Bois’ (Yes to Wood) campaign.
“Another theme of the Techniques and Solutions hall conferences is the use of wood in City port area refurbishments ‘Reinventing the city… sustainability, creativity and wood’ with presentations from London, Amsterdam and, of course, Nantes itself.
UK interest in the CIB is already strong but, while the show wants to see attendance increase from around Europe and the rest of the world, it is particularly keen for growth from across the Channel.
In fact it is also homing in on the market at its conference, with presentations from James Latham managing director Chris Sutton and TTJ consultant editor Mike Jeffree, on the state of the UK timber market and how it and its French neighbour can benefit one another more.
“The UK is a healthy and developing market, both in economic terms, but also in its overall use of wood, notably in construction, and naturally suppliers from across Europe, are keen to make contact with potential UK customers,” said Ms Padden. “Here UK visitors can see them all, a wide range of timber products, plus the latest European and wider international trends, developments and inspiration all under one roof, and find the suppliers that most meet their needs.”
She also pointed out that UK visitors could fly direct to Nantes from Gatwick, City Airport, or use the two-hour high-speed train link from Paris
