Opening its doors for the first time in 1988 on an area of 1,400 square meters in Tepebaşı, the WoodTech Fair has become the most significant meeting point of the woodworking machinery sector in Türkiye thanks to the great changes it has undergone over the years.
The WoodTech Fair, which started its journey in Tepebaşı with the participation of 100 companies and is one of the most important fairs in Türkiye today, will be held on its on 12-16 October 2024 this year to take its goals one step further. The fair, which has achieved significant success since its start, continues to progress rapidly but consistently to expand its regional success to the global arena.
Founded on 28 June 1979 in Istanbul, Tüyap held its first fairs at Istanbul Sports and Exhibition Palace and Etap Marmara Hotel in Taksim, Istanbul. The organization, whose main activity is to organize fairs in Türkiye and abroad, needed a large exhibition area due to the rapidly increasing number of projects and the tendency towards industrial fairs.As part of this expansion process,the Tüyap Istanbul Exhibition Palace in Tepebaşı was opened on 30 March 1987. Tüyap met the need for a modern exhibition center in the long term by opening the Tüyap Istanbul Fair and Congress Center with a modern infrastructure at international standards in 1996. With Tüyap, the exhibition sector, as a regular commercial activity, entered the agenda of Türkiye. With a total of 145 thousand square meters of exhibition area, including 120 thousand square meters of indoor and 25 thousand square meters of outdoor exhibition area, Tüyap continues its efforts to offer facilities by international standards.
In line with its progress and growth in Istanbul, Tüyap has also made many investments in Anatolia and opened exhibition areas in Bursa, Konya, Adana and Samsun. Tüyap Fair Organization Group has become one of the leading organizations in the exhibition sector in Türkiye thanks to its sales network in 12 cities including Istanbul, Bursa, Konya, Adana, Samsun, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep, Eskişehir, Antalya, Kocaeli, and Kayseri, as well as in the world thanks to its offices in Moscow, Tehran, Ljubljana, Belgrade, Tbilisi and Skopje, and its agency network in 27 countries. The paths of Tüyap, a power in the Eurasian region, and Reed Exhibitions, now RX Global (RX), a global power in the world, crossed on 1 June 2012, and these two major powers founded the company titled Reed Tüyap Fuarcılık A.Ş. to date, Tüyap Fair Organization Group has held a total of 2,112 fairs, 1,901 in Türkiye, and 211 in 40 countries abroad. It hosted 356 thousand 256 exhibiting organizations from 128 countries and 71 million 257 thousand 915 visitors from 219 countries.
An adventure that started in 1988 in Tepebaşı
WoodTech Fair, then known as the Woodworking Machinery Fair, was first held in 1988 at the Tüyap Istanbul Exhibition Palace in Tepebaşı in an area of 1,400 square meters, hosting about 100 exhibitors and approximately 5,000 visitors. Tüyap evaluated many parameters in detail, from visitor and exhibitor segmentation to quality, from layout to visitor circulation, from trade realized at the fair to the potential generated to improve the exhibition experience of exhibitors and visitors and to ensure that they get the most out of the time and resources they allocate to the fair, and it has worked diligently and devotedly with its stakeholders for long to improve customer satisfaction. Expanding the marketing network to offer new markets to the sector, the fair, which was prepared to cover the entire sectoral network consisting of NGOs, public institutions, media, and educational institutions related to the sector, continued to serve the Turkish forest and wood sector by increasing the stand area, number of exhibitors and visitors in the 90s thanks to its promotional and marketing activities.
The fair moved to its new address in 1996
The WoodTech Fair, which continued with great success in Tüyap Tepebaşı until the mid-90s, has been held in the new fair area consisting of 2 halls built in modern standards in Beylikdüzü by Tüyap, the largest private enterprise in the sector in Türkiye since 1996. The fair, which was first held with 100 exhibitors in an area of 1,630 square meters in Tepebaşı Istanbul Exhibition Palace in 1990, was held in 2 halls with a total area of 7 thousand square meters in Tüyap Fair and Congress Center in Beylikduzu in the late 90s and hosted 12 thousand 55 domestic and foreign visitors.
WoodTech and Intermob Fairs started to be held together
In a changing world order, the WoodTech Fair and Intermob Fair, which complement each other, started to be held simultaneously in 1997 to contribute to the Turkish forest and wood sector in Eurasia against the declining Western markets, as well as the furniture accessories and sub-industry sectors to get more share from the new markets emerging in the furniture accessories and sub-industry sectors. In the 2000s, when design and aesthetics started to come to the fore, the WoodTech and Intermob Fairs hosted over 30 thousand visitors and over 500 exhibitors in an area of 25 thousand square meters simultaneously thanks to the newly added halls. With the opening of offices in Türkiye and abroad, the Tüyap Fair Organization Group has made significant contributions to the branding and internationalization of the exhibitors.
In 2010, 3 new halls were added
With new investments in 2010 in line with these developments, the Tüyap Fair Organization Group added 3 new halls to the Tüyap Fair and Congress Center and reached an indoor exhibition area capacity of 98 thousand square meters. In line with its progress and growth in Istanbul, Tüyap has also made many investments in Anatolia and opened exhibition areas in Bursa, Konya, Adana, Samsun, and finally Eskişehir. The WoodTech and Intermob Fairs, which have become a brand, were held on 120 thousand square meters in 2014 with the participation of 861 companies and agencies and hosted 60,064 visitors from 102 countries.
Tüyap Palas was opened
With its directly connected halls, technical infrastructure complying with international standards, multi-purpose meeting rooms, and Tüyap Palas, the first fair hotel in Türkiye, Tüyap Fair and Congress Center became one of the largest and most modern fairgrounds in Türkiye in 2015. Tüyap Fair and Congress Center, which has a total of 14 halls and an indoor area of 120 thousand square meters, is also categorized as one of the major fair centers in the world.
AIMSAD and Tüyap collaborated
Tüyap’s partnership with RX Global, the world leader in the exhibition sector, entered its second phase in 2012, and WoodTech and Intermob Fairs have been included in Reed Tüyap Fuarcılık in 2015. This partnership contributed significantly to the internationalization of the fair. With this partnership, the number of foreign visitors to the fairs has steadily increased every year and has almost doubled. The agreement signed with the Turkish Woodworking Machinery Industrialists Association (AIMSAD) also strengthened the power of the WoodTech Fair, and the needs of the woodworking machinery sector were reflected more accurately in the fair.
WoodTech was the first specialized fair held face-to-face under the roof of Tüyap after the COVID-19 pandemic
WoodTech was the first specialized fair held face-to-face under the roof of Tüyap after the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the whole world and almost brought some branches of industry to a standstill. Held in cooperation with AIMSAD between 10-14 October 2020, the fair attracted great interest from domestic and foreign companies. The products of 79 companies and agents from 8 countries were exhibited at WoodTech 2020, which was held according to the new measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 6,382 visitors from 60 countries attended the fair, which brought together domestic and foreign professionals and sector representatives operating in the woodworking sector. Almost a thousand of the participants were foreign visitors. Business people who want to invest showed great interest in the fair where purchasing delegations from 11 countries including Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine came. According to the survey conducted on WoodTech 2020, all of the respondents stated that they would participate in the fair again next year. While one out of every two companies participating in the fair received orders during the fair, the rate of those who received orders after the fair is over 60%. The establishment of business contacts of about 5 million dollars at the fair was appreciated by the sector representatives.
The year 2023 became the year of change and transformation
The growth and new participation requests received due to the use of the entire exhibition area at WoodTech and Intermob Fairs could not be positively responded to. Thus, it has been decided to hold the fairs, which have been held together simultaneously since 1997, on separate dates as of 2023. The results of the intensive surveys conducted with visitors and exhibitors in recent years, it has been determined that visitors and exhibitors would like to see more companies and products at both fairs. However, it was not possible to offer this diversity under the current conditions. The intensive visitor surveys also revealed that the profile of visitors who visited the furniture sub-industry and forestry products was different from the profile of visitors who wanted to see the machinery. The decision to separate WoodTech and Intermob Fairs and to make this major change that will pave the way for becoming much stronger was made together with all stakeholders to allow the development of the fairs and meet the demands of visitors and exhibitors. Thus, the fair has entered a new period where the sector can offer space to its new actors and respond to the demands of existing exhibitors who want to expand their booth space. Besides, the visitors will be able to find product groups in a more specific way and observe the products and services presented by the exhibitors in a more diverse way. At the fair, which has a structure similar to the examples in the world, these changes will contribute much more positively to the business contacts of all sectors.
“We will determine the standards for the future at the WoodTech Fair”
WoodTech Fair, held at Istanbul Tüyap Fair and Congress Center between 19-23 October 2023 in cooperation with RX Tüyap and AIMSAD, attracted great attention as a commercial event where the latest technological developments in the sector were exhibited.
WoodTech Fair, the largest fair in Eurasia in its field, was organized 2023 for the 36th time with the international experience of RX Tüyap and the sector power and unifying structure of the Turkish Woodworking Machinery Industrialists Association (AIMSAD). The fair brings together woodworking machinery manufacturers, suppliers and industry professionals and gives them the opportunity to present the latest technologies and innovations in the industry. Innovations in the fields of automation, data analytics and environmental sustainability were one of the focal points of the fair.
At the fair held in 10 halls; panel furniture, solid furniture, furniture machinery, machinery and equipment for forestry, logging and timber products, wood processing machinery and equipment, surface treatment machinery and equipment, machinery and equipment used in packaging; conveyor, transport, storage equipment; cutting tools, holder tools and other equipment, dust collection, ventilation and filter systems; drying ovens, impregnation systems and energy boilers, industrial and sectoral software were exhibited together.
20 percent increase is targeted in 2024
WoodTech, which grew by 30 percent in 2023 compared to the fair held in 2022, hosted more than 320 companies and company representatives and nearly a thousand machines. The fair hosted 22 thousand 381 visitors, 3 thousand 881 of whom were international visitors, from 98 countries, including Türkiye. More than 280 international VIP purchasing delegations also came to Istanbul for the fair. WoodTech Fair, which will be held between October 12-16 in 2024, is expected to increase by at least 20 percent in both the number of international visitors and our trade volume. Additionally, two new halls will be added this year in addition to the existing halls.
“We will contribute to the growth of the sector with WoodTech Fair”
Emphasizing that they will move forward by putting digitalization, automation, sustainability, environmental awareness and innovation targets at the center, RX Tüyap General Manager Berkan Öner stated that they will continue to bring an inspiring vision to the sector for 2024 and beyond and that they will determine the standards of the future in the world of woodworking machinery at the WoodTech Fair. Öner: “In 2024, the woodworking machinery industry is expected to expand further in global markets. It is aimed to continue the growth momentum in the sector with entry into new markets, international cooperation and trade agreements. We predict that the growth of the sector will be supported by factors such as the increase in demand in the domestic market and the continuation of exports. Among the sector’s targets for 2024; These include increasing exports, opening to new markets and improving domestic production capacity. To achieve these goals, the sector plans to focus on R&D investments and follow technology closely. The woodworking machinery sector will continue to be an important dynamo of the Turkish economy in the coming years. “We will contribute to the growth of the sector, employment and exports through our WoodTech Fair.”
“WoodTech will be one of the most important fairs of the industry”
AIMSAD Secretary General Arif Onur Kaçak; “WoodTech Fair once again demonstrated Türkiye’s power in the woodworking machinery industry. WoodTech Fair, which is the most important meeting point of Eurasia for the woodworking machinery industry, achieved success above expectations in 2023 and put forward its claim for 2024. Visitors had the opportunity to examine the latest technology products in the field of woodworking machinery at the WoodTech Fair, which brought together industry professionals and provided the basis for important business connections and collaborations. In addition, the participation of nearly 100 AIMSAD members in the fair showed the importance of the leading organizations of the sector in the event and the importance that this association gives to the strong solidarity in the sector. WoodTech Fair, which made a significant contribution to the economy by exceeding the trade volume of 2.5 billion TL, was a resource for those who wanted to follow the innovations and developments in the sector. As AIMSAD, we started working quickly at the beginning of the year for our fair, which will be held this year, bringing with it many innovations. These efforts to achieve the planned goals signal that the fair will grow further and become one of the most important fairs of the sector in a short time.”
