American Hardwood Export Council: 80% growth in last 5 years in wood exported to GCC; UAE is third largest trading and processing hub for American wood

Stiff competition between European and Chinese machinery suppliers witnessed during the show

Dubai, UAE, 18th April 2015: The Dubai International Wood & Wood Machinery Show (Dubai Woodshow 2015) ended amidst fierce competition between German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese machinery suppliers during the three day show.

Key exhibitors at the Dubai Woodshow 2015 said they received many visitors interested in their latest manufacturing machineries.

Josine Heijmans, Exhibition Director of the Dubai WoodShow said: "Dubai WoodShow reinforced its position as the regional landmark event for wood trade and investment. The show provided a strategic platform for showcasing latest wood industry products and suppliers, while at the same time giving exhibitors the opportunity to explore new markets and strengthenrelations with new and existing clients."

Roderick Wiles, Directorof American Hardwood Export Council, said 21 companies from USA participated in Dubai Woodshow 2015. "UAE is a very important market for wood. In 2014, 15,000 cubic meters of lumber were sent to UAE, valued at$12 million. We have seen 80% growth in the last 5 years in wood exported to GCC. UAE forms a third biggest trading and processing hub for wood exported here. There are 300 wood processing factories in UAE sending processed wood to Middle East and Africa, as well as London and New York. Thus, UAE forms a very important market, and we see tremendous growth potential in the field of wood trading."

"Cefla is a world leader in the finishing of Woodestablished 82 years ago, with presence in the Middle East for more than 25 years," Mohd. Khaldoon Al Dallal, Executive Manager at Cefla Middle East FZE, said."Cefla's head office is in Jebel Ali. We have been participating in Dubai WoodShow since the launch of the show 10 years ago. Through this exhibition we meet new customers as well as already existing customers, as the show offers us an ideal platform to offer value added services and support to our existing and potential clients."

Khalil Al Absi, Sales Area Manager at Biesse Middle East, a leading global company said: "Our company is specialized in selling machines that produce high end products, and we have introduced new machines to the Middle East. We have been in UAE since 2009. Our products are Italian. We cooperate with Cefla Middle East FZE on projects. We have noted an increase in the number of customers every year, especially this year."

Christele Barakat, Marketing and Events Coordinator at Chabros International group, said: "We are the biggest suppliers of wood and veneer in UAE. Our headquarters are in Dubai, however we have branches in 18 countries. We provide big range of interior and exterior products like parquet wood flooring. We consider Dubai WoodShow a very important exhibition, where we meet the suppliers of wood as well as new clients."

Lynn Wang, Sales Manager in the Wood department at CNBM International Corporation, said: "We are a government company in China, considered the biggest building material company. We are ranked 500 in the world in this field. We have manufacturing factories, but we concentrate more on trading. We export our products to GCC and North Africa and others. Our UAE branch is in Jebel Ali, and we sell a significant amount of wood yearly in the UAE. On the second day of the show, we signed six contracts with new customers."

Maria Moreira, from sales department at Fibromade SA said: "We are a veneer-manufacturing company based in Portugal. This veneer is used in furniture, flooring, aircrafts, hotels, doors and others. We produce two trucks of veneer daily. 80 - 90% of what we produce is exported worldwide. This marks our first participation in Dubai WoodShow, as we are expecting to have this exhibition as a window to start our export to UAE and GCC region."

Muhiddin Salem, Area Sales Manager at Gizir Ahsap Insaat Turizm San Tic A.S., said: "We provide MDF based products. We produce different decorative panels used in furniture, kitchen cabinets and others. We export our products to 60 countries including, GCC, Mexico, China, South Africa and others. 10,000 panels per year are exported to UAE." 

Juma Al Zaghol, Sales Manager at HOMAG Group, said: "We sell machines for mass production of wood. We have been in Dubai since 1996, and we cover GCC, Jordan and Egypt. This is our 8th participation in Dubai WoodShow, We expect to meet 450 visitors by the end of the exhibition. Our stand is one of the biggest and we expect great results, especially since there are many upcoming projects, most importantly the EXPO 2020 projects. Besides, we have signed several new contracts."

Dubai WoodShow 2015 featured various international pavilions hosted by participating countries like the United States, Canada, Germany, France, China, Malaysia, Sweden and others.

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© Press Release 2015