The organisers of Xylexpo have raised the stakes in the battle with a new rival as the Italian woodworking technology exhibition of choice.
Industry giants Biesse, Cefla Finishing and SCM Group said they would focus next year on Technodomus in Rimini, run by Fiera di Rimini. The show is to be held 10 days before the long-established Xylexpo in Milan organised by the Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association, ACIMALL.
Acimall has attacked the move as absurd, but issued a new statement making no reference to the row, declaring that many international companies had committed to its 2010 show.
It said it had received 200 applications for 20,000m² of space from exhibitors such as the major German machinery suppliers Homag, Weinig, IMA and Wemoener.
Xylexpo general-secretary Paolo Zanibon said: “The trend of exhibitor registrations is definitely higher than we expected. If we take a look at the exhibitors who have already confirmed, the signals of a rally seem to get stronger and stronger.”
The breakaway group of Italian exhibitors make up half of domestic machinery production. They said the first Technodomus show this year had yielded satisfactory results and they would not exhibit at Xylexpo in 2010.
Acimall said the Technodomus move was damaging to the woodworking industry.
