Dubai WoodShow offers the latest woodworking technology in the world

Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, organisers of Dubai WoodShow, held a press conference in Saudi Arabia to unveil the details of the 13th edition of this year's Dubai WoodShow, which will be held from March 12 and 14 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Dawood Al Shezawi, President of Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, addressed the press at the press conference.

“Dubai WoodShow contributes significantly to the development of the construction, building, interiors, furniture, manufacturing and machine tools industry and trade in the Middle East and Africa by gathering the largest international companies working in the field of wood, woodworking, furniture, wood products and manufacturing machine tools to provide the local and regional markets with the latest technologies and raw materials,” Dawood Al Shezawi, President of Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions and organiser of Dubai WoodShow, told the media at the press conference.

“The exhibition supports the competitiveness of the Arab industries, products and services in the international markets and helps open more opportunities for local products manufacturers enter into trade deals between the manufacturers and the world's largest suppliers and buyers during the exhibition and helps create reciprocal relations between a number of Arab countries and the rest of the world.”

Al Shezawi said that a large number of Saudi businessmen are interested in the exhibition, in line with the growth and development of trade relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where the Kingdom is a key partner of the UAE. The average imports of the Kingdom from the UAE were estimated at Dh16.43 billion, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and the UAE are growing in both directions to more than Dh25.3 billion, Al Shezawi said, pointing out that trade and investment relations between the two countries are increasing, with Saudi Arabia's plans to diversify sources of national income and focus on industry in the coming years.

Al Shezawi explained that the Dubai International Furniture, Accessories and Components (DIFAC) which runs concurrently is highly regarded by the Ministry of Economy, especially as it is one of the largest and most important economic exhibitions in the Middle East specialised in the field of furniture and machines for the manufacture of wood products and accessories. It also brings together a large number of participants worldwide. 300 exhibitors, over 17,000 square metres of net occupied exhibition space at the Dubai World Trade Centre, attracting the world's largest companies.

He pointed out that there are a large number of visitors coming to the exhibition, which exceeded 10,000 visitors last year. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest source countries of business visitors who are constantly looking to acquire the latest woodworking machineries and various designs in wood accessories. These are in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aiming to develop industries for economic diversification and its resources and promote industrialisation to make the Kingdom more prosperous and reduce its dependence on hydrocarbon.

“This year, the exhibition is divided into two – Dubai WoodShow, which is dedicated to wood machinery and presents the latest world of modern technology and fourth generation technologies in the field of furniture and machinery, while the other – Dubai International Furniture, Accessories and Components (DIFAC) that highlights modern innovations offered by the latest major companies in the furniture and decoration industry. Visitors of the exhibitions are able to learn about the modern methods of dealing with the surfaces of furniture, Semi-finished fabrics and furnishings.

Dawood Al Shezawi said, the exhibition plays a role in meeting the needs of architecture and real estate, especially with the increasing demand for building and buying houses and the necessities of furniture, home appliances and interior decorations.

According to a latest Ventures Middle East market research, the size of spending in the GCC countries in terms of home decoration and decoration rose from $15.5 billion in 2016 to more than $17.7 billion in 2017, giving the exhibition an added advantage as it brings together the world's largest manufacturers of furniture, wood products and furniture fittings worldwide to meet the Local and regional market needs.

On relations between Egypt and the UAE, Al Shezawi said that the two countries have great trade relations, with the UAE accounting for more than 12.5 percent ​​of Egyptian exports worth more than $3.3 billion last year.

Al Shezawi explained that the exhibition will be visited this year by a high-level delegation from Egypt along with increased Egyptian business visitors in addition to a number of exhibitors from furniture and wood industry, to see the latest modern technology of machinery and accessories for the manufacture of furniture and wood products.