The Worldwide Woodworking Truthful (IWF) returned to Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Heart final week for the primary time in 4 years (the 2020 present was canceled as a result of COVID-19 pandemic). Greater than 900 exhibitors stuffed the halls to showcase the newest services throughout North America’s largest woodworking know-how and design commerce present and convention. Many firms with flooring-related merchandise had been represented, together with NWFA members who exhibited at this yr’s present.

“The visitors has been nice,” stated Dave Bower, vp of selling for NWH. “I feel individuals are excited in regards to the business and what’s happening out there, regardless that the market has softened a little bit bit, however I feel individuals are nonetheless very optimistic about the way forward for our business, the way forward for wooden, and the way we will preserve going ahead.”

Bower and the NWH workforce at IWF highlighted the corporate’s rebrand of Northwest Hardwoods, which was introduced final week. Along with the shortened firm title, there’s a new web site, emblem, and tagline, “Easy. Pure. Hardwoods.”

“Northwest Hardwoods has been round for 55 years. We had been based within the Northwest, however we’ve grown and expanded, and now we’re a world firm,” defined Bower. “We actually needed to evolve the corporate title and our model, constructing on our legacy and in addition interesting to a broader viewers.”

Over at Sherwin-Williams’ sales space, the workforce was targeted on tendencies, as they shared the 2023 Shade Combine Pattern Forecast for Industrial Wooden Markets. It’s all in regards to the earth, and presents a “Terra” theme of 32 trending stain colours and finishes in 4 collections – Biome, Lore, Nexus, and Origin.

“We have now recognized 4 megatrends for flooring,” famous Lauren West, World Shade and Design Heart director for Sherwin-Williams. “They’re bleach blonde and fumed, a lightweight fawn colour, a stunning darkish chocolate brown that’s uptrending, after which some enjoyable issues resembling including pearl essence, or a unique kind of impact like a cerusing or a mica. These results may assist transfer mild across the room and we’re conserving that in thoughts not just for residential, however for contract and hospitality utilizing it in wayfinding in very massive architectural areas.”

Sherwin-Williams’ colour specialists added that colours are trending hotter and European affect is bringing a extra streamlined type.

“Gloss sheen ranges appear to be going up,” stated Eric Crosby, colour materials end skilled for Sherwin-Williams. “For the previous 5 to 10 years, it has been between 5 and 10 sheen, very dry. Now individuals are speaking about 20 all the best way as much as 60 sheen.”

Tom Laurenzi, CEO of Delmhorst Instrument Co. famous they launched a brand new product at IWF, and that visitors on the ground had been regular.

“We’re launching our new JX-20 and JX-30 moisture meters out of our Navigator line,” stated Laurenzi. “They function a big dashboard-like show with the entire data that you really want to see on display screen at one time. The JX-30 has Bluetooth, which lets you hook up with our new app that expands the performance of the meter by permitting you to import many extra species than you’ll have constructed into the meter.”

When it comes to how issues are on the lookout for the business, Laurenzi stated attendees on the commerce present flooring had been optimistic.

“Most individuals have advised us that enterprise is on the upswing and individuals are enthusiastic about what the long run holds regardless of what our economic system is doing in the meanwhile when it comes to inflation and so forth,” he defined. “There’s a number of optimistic, upbeat perspective about what the long run appears like.”

Moreover, Cameron Automation received an IWF 2022 Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award for its Flooring Nester. The announcement acknowledged that this machine has graders, which feed random lengths of fabric into one finish of the machine, and releases a constant, nested bundle of flooring out of the other finish. From the unique discipline of 86 IWF 2022 Challengers Award contestants, 20 finalists had been chosen, and 7 winners had been introduced.

For extra details about IWF, go to iwfatlanta.com.