英国伯明翰国际木工机械及家具材料展览会（Materials & Finishes Show / W Birmingham & Elements）是英国唯一最大型木材及石材加工机械与家具生产配件材料展览会，是石材与木工机械、零部件和材料专业贸易展，是石材制品、木制品和家具行业的一场领先的专业盛会。该展从1976年开始，两年一届，在伯明翰NEC展览中心举行，其影响力覆盖全国包括英格兰、苏格兰、韦尔斯、爱尔兰等，观众对象主要是实木家具、中纤板家具、板式家具、橱柜、衣柜、办公桌等生产商以及室内工程师、设计师等，由于一般英国买家都只观摩国内展会采购商品，极少跑到国外去采购，再是英国脱欧后，此展更是国外企业开拓英国市场的良机。
W展会有超过40年的历史，并仍在继续增长，并按照Woodmex和ASFI的成功经验作为展览的基础扩大更多的零部件供应商和材料参加展会，巩固了家具和木工行业，并邀请大家在这一领域拥有机会看到所有的产品和机械在一个屋檐下。现在独立一个家具板材展（Elements），让行业朝着组合家具业的快速发展。板材展是2016年推出一个全新的展，是英国唯一的组件展将展出一系列整理产品的KBB，家具生产和室内设计市场。代表将包括最新流水线工作和存储解决方案，表面的应用趋势、材料和技术，这些是具有影响力的制造商来自英国、欧洲设计和更远的地方。
本次活动是在巨大的木制产品尺寸范围工作的各种规模的厂商“必参与”的活动。在每两年一届的展会上体验到木工机械、部件和材料的最新强调的产品和工艺及现场演示。
随着英国经济的持续增长，制造业的不断壮大，与加速房屋建设方案，并为可持续的经济增长及木材料使用的增长，大部分的木材和建筑用木材的工作将在W展现场交易或洽谈预订。
W展包含了这个行业的发展，而不是仅仅通过增加参展商来到展会，同时公认和展示行业内的新人才和培训，通过它的教育重点促进下一代将采取行业向前发展的方向与目标。
展品范围(Show Products):
天然材料：木材、面板、薄板、地板、木门及室内装璜；
合成材料：装饰纸制品、粘合剂、封边条、碾压板、颜料、防火胶板等；
五金配件：一般板式，中纤板和实木家具，橱柜及衣柜用锁具、五金配件、照明系统；
加工机械：机械及模具，机器切割工具，电动工具 - 电动气动，手动工具，零部件及配件，CNC与设计软件。
展会报告(Show Reports):
Over 6,000 visitors attended Materials & Finishes Show marking a conversion rate of over 55% from pre registrants. The audience was made up of joiners, furniture manufacturers and professionals, carpenters and cabinet makers, and business owners and executives who had come to source the latest products and technology on the market.
The event marked the first time that every corner of the UK woodworking sector has had the opportunity to come together, see the latest products and innovations on offer all under one roof, network and do business, since 2018.
Visitors had over 160 brands to choose from on the show floor, with running machinery displayed alongside the latest materials, components, software, tools, fixtures, finishing products and innovations for the woodworking sector. Over 45% of the exhibitors were overseas brands who had recognised the opportunities that having a presence at the UK’s trade show for the furniture manufacturing and joinery industries presented.
Visitor Josh Hudson, furniture lead for Rycotewood Furniture Learning Centre, said: “It’s great to be able to meet so many people in one place. You’ve got everybody here which means you’re not trekking around the country to meet everybody and it’s the perfect place to make connections with the industry.”
New features, such as the Live Demo Zone and CPD certified learning programme proved a big draw for visitors who were able to participate in over 40 hours of live demonstrations from brands including AMS, Leitz Tooling, The Joinery Network, Lamello, GreCon, Trend Tool Technology and Rubio Monocoat, as well as panel debates and seminar sessions.
Al Parra, BLOQS co-founder and Materials & Finishes Show speaker, said: “We’re really impressed that Materials & Finishes Show is thinking ahead about the future of furniture manufacturing, what that looks like, and were delighted to be invited to participate in the show and discuss this topic in particular.”
The presence of Materials & Finishes Show brand ambassadors, which included self confessed carpentry, joinery and building fanatic, Robin Clevett, media personality and carpenter, Tibby Singh and fellow online content creators; Peter Millard, Alastiar Johnson (Freebird Interiors), Derek Barrett Design and the Welsh Woodworker, increased the event’s campaign reach by over one million and added a new dimension to the show.
Peter Millard, Materials & Finishes Show ambassador, and owner of 10 Minute Workshop, said: “What a great show this has been! We had a fabulous demo area set aside for us where I worked alongside my fellow content creators. We had some fantastic questions from the audience and I was able to demo my latest 10 Minute Workshop multi jig as well as talk about all of the great technology, such as CNCs, which help smaller makers / installers like myself to work more efficiently.”
Event director, David Todd comments: “We’re absolutely delighted with the success of Materials & Finishes Show 2024. We set out to deliver an engaging event, with a broad lineup of brands showcasing thousands of the latest products and innovations for the UK’s furniture manufacturing and joinery industries - and Materials & Finishes Show did just that!
“The feedback we have received from the industry has been hugely positive. The new features that we developed, including the Live Demo Zone, CPD certified learning programme and networking bar, were all really well received by exhibitors and visitors alike. Over 115 people turned up for the first seminar session with Robin Clevett - his involvement as a brand ambassador in the run up to and during the show was invaluable in helping us to curate a programme that would resonate with joiners and carpenters specifically.
Running machinery proved to be a big pull for visitors, with brands such as Advanced Machinery Services, AES Group, Felder, FEN, Vertongen, Kundig, Robland, MARTIN and VWM putting on a fantastic showcase of the latest CNC, drilling, nesting, routing, sanding and cutting solutions. These brands received high levels of interest throughout the show, with four machines sold by the end of the first day of the event.
Owen Dare, joinery consultant for The Joinery Network, delivered a live demonstration of the end-to-end production of a timber window frame utilising an AMS distributed Wadkin Bursgreen woodworking machine and Lignum tooling supplied by Leitz Tooling. Owen said: “Our demo was designed to help joiners become more efficient so that they can make more profit with a very low investment model to grow their business portfolio.
“Materials & Finishes Show provided an ideal platform for joiners to see the latest products and innovations, as well as stay abreast of the latest legislation and regulations for the industry.”
Event director, David Todd concluded: “I’d like to extend my gratitude to our stakeholders, including our exhibitors, visitors, media partners, content creators, speakers and the trade associations who threw their support behind Materials & Finishes Show 2024.
“We’ve set extremely solid foundations in place to build on and deliver an even more successful event when Materials & Finishes Show returns for its next instalment in 2026.
