ATLANTA — International Woodworking Fair® (IWF) Atlanta, which is the largest event catering to the woodworking sector, is expanding the reach of its popular brand with the creation of the IWF West Trade Show and Conference.
The new show will debut Aug. 25–27, 2027, at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio — a location that was chosen to facilitate the travel of attendees from key locations such as California, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.
According to IWF President and CEO Kevin Holtzclaw, IWF West is the company’s response to the needs of exhibitors and attendees, who expressed interest in having the show experience in between the biennial Atlanta show.
“IWF West will extend and expand the strength, relevance and value of the IWF brand,” Holtzclaw said. “Customers in both populations — buyer and seller — are fiercely loyal to IWF. Legions of attendees and exhibitors trust IWF to deliver the unmatched show experience they’ve come to expect. With IWF West, IWF will serve more customers more frequently in a historic first-ever annual rotation.”
To best serve these stakeholders, IWF West will have the tried-and-true formula that has made the Atlanta show successful, along with new ideas and solutions to open up growth opportunities for attendees and exhibitors. This will include a meticulously curated combination of manufacturers that have been staples at IWF Atlanta with first-time exhibitors — giving attendees access to more products and services than ever before.
In addition, the three-day event will feature enhanced networking opportunities, as well as customized learning and professional development sessions designed to connect attendees with wood technology and design experts.
From Survey Feedback to Show Floor
From conception to execution, IWF West is being created with stakeholder feedback in mind and the features of the Atlanta show that people think are most valuable.
“All IWF West initiatives are governed by a master plan employing best-practice programming informed by IWF Atlanta’s highly-successful franchise,” Holtzclaw explained. “Exhaustive independent research conducted among all IWF customers points to key opportunities we are addressing — including the scaling and composition of the IWF West product mix.”
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For example, in a survey of IWF Atlanta exhibitors conducted by MMR Research Associates, 56% reported they were in favor of creating a new iteration of the IWF experience, which helped inform the creation of the new event. The survey also found that 64% of respondents were pleased with the key attributes proposed — including the show’s location, duration and access to buyers.
Similarly, when IWF surveyed attendees, the results showed that 63% of buyers who went to the latest Atlanta show in 2024 strongly endorsed the idea of IWF West. Prospective attendees of the new show were especially excited about the San Antonio location and being in an environment that would allow them to have enough time to explore the products and services they’re interested in.
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