Forest Products EXPO 2015 – A Great Show

With a total of 2,206 attendees and exhibitors registered, Expo 2015 – the 33rd Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition conducted by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) – was a resounding success. For three days – June 10-12 – displays of 188 exhibitors covered more than 54,000 square feet of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Featuring a floor plan that was 45% larger than the 2013 event and total attendance up 18%, the wood industry was ready to show off the latest equipment, technology and services available.

“With our industry in full recovery mode, people came to Expo 2015 with a mindset to invest in their operations,” noted SFPA’s exposition director Eric Gee. “Exhibitors met with a quality crowd, including company representatives ready to purchase new equipment and services from industry leaders,” he added.

Exhibitors were impressed with the quality crowd attending all three days of the show. “Our sales team stayed busy all three days. I’m glad we booked a larger space this year to show off more equipment,” said one exhibitor. “The quality contacts we wanted are here,” commented another exhibitor.

For the first time, Expo 2015 co-located with the Forest Products Society’s 69th International Convention. Its INNOTECH program brought an educational element to the show, providing a full day of presentations devoted to safety, project planning and mill upgrades.

The Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition has been sponsored since 1950 by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA), a trade association representing Southern Pine lumber manufacturers from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
SFPA’s member companies produce about 45 percent of the nation’s Southern Pine lumber.

Over 2,200 Attendees and Exhibitors were registered for the 2015 event held at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Exhibitors met with a quality crowd, including company representatives ready to purchase new equipment and services from industry leaders,” according to expo director Eric Gee.