Zow Bad Salzuflen

11/12/2013

No one will take it bad if, reading the press releases from organizers, we thought we were writing about the “mother of all battles”. An event, invented at least twenty years ago, that has been so successful that it has reaffirmed and magnified a concept that has turned into a paradigm. Low ceilings, soft atmosphere, distinctive style, compact spaces were not invented by Zow, but with Zow they have showed their full potential and attractiveness. And you cannot deny that, more recently, the exhibition and its “sisters” in different countries had to face very different situations from what they had imagined. And we should not forget the “challenge” that has resulted into the rise of another show that has interpreted these and other concepts.

But we will not deal with this story here. So, congratulations to Zow for what it has been able to achieve, for the experience it has developed, for the storms it has gone through to be once again back under the spotlights in Bad Salzuflen, its cradle, its ideal location, the origin of its life. Its mission is going to be reaffirmed and rejuvenated at the event in the German town from 10 to 13 February 2014, when the international event dedicated to furniture and interior design (so runs the payoff) will be back on stage.

“We expected 600 exhibitors approximately on an exhibition area of 17 thousand square meters”, said Horst Rudolph, Managing Director of Clarion Events Deutschland GmbH, event organizers. “We are quite satisfied with registrations a few months before the opening, the situation confirms that Zow is important for the entire furniture industry system”.

In Bad Salzuflen, all product categories will be represented, as well as most big names of semifinished materials and supplies, though with few exceptions. There will be a strong focus on innovative products and solutions, as well as a few topics that have always been closely monitored by the German exhibition, at least in previous editions. Among these, workpiece identification during the process via a Rfid tag (radio frequency identification), or lightweight panels. Wireless traceability will have a dedicated area in hall 21 (“Rfid factory”), while hall 22.1 will present the latest design trends using lightweight panels, high-thickness hollow-core panels with a visual impact that creates a real design experience, under the coordination of the “Lightweight Construction Association”.

Zow 2014 will be a new milestone in the history of this show. We remind you that a collaboration agreement has been recently signed by Clarion Events Deutschland and the Bad Salzuflen expo center to host the exhibition in its original location until 2018.

“The extension of our agreement is a strong signal:Zow represents the industry and it is the result of a relationship between industry and territory that we cannot deny”, said Horst Rudolph. Taking a central place in the East Westphalia region, where furniture is represented at its best, is an added value no one is willing to give up.

The next Zow will cover four halls: 20, 21, 22.1 and 22.2. “We discussed with the expo center management and decided not to use hall 19, while concentrating our offer”, added Horst. Hardware, traditionally exhibited in hall 19, will be place in hall 22.1 next February.

There was no alternative, considering that a few manufacturers of this industry preferred to be relatively “cautious” and not attend Zow 2014. Is it a transitory “crisis” or a new situation that the German exhibition will have to face soon? In February we will get an answer…