One hundred and thirty companies from all over the world flocked to Co Dublin last month to exhibit at Woodworking Ireland 2001.
Organiser Tony Cox said: ‘There were 18 more companies exhibiting than two years ago and now we are running out of space. The location of the National Show Centre is ideal, but the show is getting too big for it. Eighty per cent of space is already taken for the next one in two years’ time and we may have to consider moving the venue.’
Visitor numbers were also up 10% to just over 6,000 and Mr Cox said: ‘The show has become part and parcel of the industry scene. Ireland is still a very strong, buoyant market.’
Exhibitor Mike Mullen of Dumbartonshire-based Advantec said he was confident that several of the serious enquiries taken would convert into firm orders. His stand included working demonstrations of machines from the Gannomat drilling, dowel and hinge inserting range and the Holz-Her Eco-Master CNC machining centre.
St John Crabtree of Altendorf UK Ltd says interest in the new F45 Elmo 3 sliding table saw was ‘quite incredible’.
Many visitors also saw the streamlined extraction hood – now standard on all new Altendorf models – for the first time.
Kundig Ltd of Buckingham-shire sold two sanding machines. Andy Milne was pleased with interest shown in the two wide-belt models displayed – the Primo single-belt machine with combi unit and the Duplex twin-belt model produced in four working widths.
