Eurobois 2018 at Lyon

Last November, France should have hosted two exhibitions of wood and furniture technology and materials, Eurobois in Lyon and Expobois in Paris; the latter has merged into the Deutsche Messe portfolio and was cancelled few weeks before its start.  So, Lyon found a desert highway ahead and offered an excellent edition of Eurobois. We are writing now, when things have settled, due to our bimonthly frequency. However, we did not want to overlook the event, because from 15 to 18 November the market decided what to do beyond the Alps; a decision taken by 20 thousand visitors coming to the beautiful French city in four days, recording a 7 percent increase in foreign attendance compared to the previous edition. And if you considered this a “local” exhibition for the territory of Rhone-Alpes , famous for its “wood vocation”, you should take a look at the figures published by organizers, indicating that 41 percent of visitors came from outside the region. They found 25 thousand square meters and 328 exhibitors, about one hundred for their first time in Lyon, as a sign of tangible interest for this market that, in recent years, though preserving its importance, seemed to be a bit “discouraged”, so to say.And even on the offer side, there was a significant “international share”, with 35 percent of exhibitors coming from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Switzerland… Plenty of visitors from Italy, as many as 45 percent of all foreign operators, combined with about forty “made in Italy” companies in the aisles of Eurexpo, plus many more attending with their French subsidiary or through agents and distributors. Florence Mompo “We listened to the market and designed an event that responded to what operators have always requested from us”, said Florence Mompo, the dynamic exhibition manager. “Last November, there was only one exhibition in Lyon because industry operators decided so: they chose the best solution, the one that best fits their needs and their strategies. However, we cannot rest on laurels and we are already planning a number of meetings with our partners to know what went good and what can be improved, because this is our job, this is what we have to do”. And now it’s going back to February. Now that there is no more talking about creating one exhibition “together”, in collaboration between Paris and Lyon, everyone will go their own way, wherever it is, and Lyon is going back to origins, restoring the traditional event at the beginning of the year: “The 2018 edition, in February, will have to reaffirm the effectiveness of our decisions”, Mompo added. “The French market clearly stated they want a biennial exhibition, reflecting the needs of exhibitors from all over the world. We are satisfied, we cannot deny: in a way, it’s a reward to our longstanding relations with industry operators, our deep knowledge of the market and the needs of its acto’s. We have always been focused on building a project, an event, an exhibition together with industry, professionals, distributors. We have always been available, and I think I can say this message has been clearly understood…It’s a turning point, the first step of a new journey; this is how we love to consider this Eurobois, being aware that from 6 to 9 February 2018 we will have to show we deserve such trust!”.