Dirk Gerntholtz, Dirk Vente and Christian Hess of Holzbau CPT at their eye-catching stand.
By Joy Crane
There was a steady stream of visitors through the hall housing the WoodEX for Africa exhibition in June, and one exhibit stopped people in their tracks. Holzbau CPT erected a large exhibit made of curved laminated timber beams, which drew serious attention from visitors and exhibitors and went a long way towards shifting perceptions of engineered timber as a serious construction material.
Show organiser Stephan Jooste was pleased with the turnout, as a show is only as good as its exhibitors and the audience they attract. He says it met his objective of helping to grow South Africa’s forestry and furniture manufacturing sector, strengthening value chains and increasing commercial opportunities for local businesses.
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- Jose Vinicius Marciano, Wynand du Plessis (NewSaw), Adriano Vanzin (Vantec Owner) and Marciano Chagas gathered at the Vantec stand.
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- SAWPA’s Bruce Breedt and Nellie Berrington were kept busy explaining preservative treated timber to visitors.
Flow of visitors
Co-location with Big 5 Construct continued to pay off for both shows. This time, WoodEX wasn’t tucked away in its own hall on a limb; it sat within a shared space that let visitors move naturally between the two shows rather than making a deliberate detour.
The Rubio Monocoat build-off was a constant crowd-puller, and the appeal of hi-tech, traditional and portable woodworking machinery kept visitors moving from stand to stand across all three days. The floor plan helped too, encouraging a flow past every exhibitor.
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- Stuart Byrch, Henry Mavuso and Warren Harrison at the friendly FIT Sales booth.
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- Almotech brought their machines to WoodEx. With the team at the stand were Heiko Almoneit (left) and Ahren Almoneit (centre).
International exhibitors
Last year’s edition landed a month after most of the exhibitors and visitors had returned from a busy and costly run of the biennial German trade shows, Interzum in Cologne and Ligna in Hanover. Several South African and international exhibitors said this year’s WoodEX was noticeably more energetic.
The international flavour ran deeper than the exhibitor list alone shows. Most South African exhibitors, including CMC, Almotech, NewSaw, Geerlings, Nukor, FIT, Wood Industry Supplies, Rhino Wood and Universal Plywood, used their stands to showcase their international principals’ brands.
Read the full story here – https://www.woodbizafrica.co.za/june-2026-issue-60/#june-2026-issue-60/22/