The year 2018 was really good for wood and furniture industry technologies.

Desire for change and progress is in the air at Xylexpo: after the decision to bring the exhibition timeframe to four days (from Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 May 2020), a new logo has been launched officially, twenty years after the rebranding from Interbimall to Xylexpo and the introduction of the logo that has characterized the international exhibition until the latest edition in 2018.

The July-September period reaffirmed the current industry trend, characterized by consolidation after strong growth in 2017. After major investments in Italy and abroad in recent months, woodworking and wood-based materials companies finally have a new and updated fleet of equipment. As a result, the need to invest is now decreasing.

The climate of recent times, characterized by a consistent improvement of all indicators, could not last forever. So, here we are, packing up for the summer break, with some hints and reflections… starting from the first trend emerging in the second quarter of this year, namely the widespread slowdown of orders. The traditional quarterly survey by Acimall, the Confindustria member association, reveals a 9.9 percent decrease compared to the same period of 2017.

The 2018 edition of Xylexpo is going to be a milestone in the 50-year success story of the event: the area has been virtually sold out for a few weeks now and, with the addition of a fourth hall, the exhibition will get close to 35 thousand net square meters, a significant progress from 29,189 in the previous edition, when the area expansion amounted to two thousand square meters compared to 2014.

In the April-June 2017, orders for Italian woodworking technologies recorded 31.9% growth rates, compared to the same period of 2016 (previous quarter growth was 22.2%), reported Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association Acimall.