The Dubai International Wood & Wood Machinery Show, a major event for wood trade and investment, closed today on a high note with over Dh100 million ($27.2 million) in reported sales during its three-day run.

According to Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, the event’s organizers, the show posted an attendance of 7,000.

Dubai WoodShow 2013 provided a strategic platform for communication and development on the latest wood industry products and suppliers, while at the same time also giving participants and exhibitors the opportunity to explore new markets and help maintain relations with existing clients.

The show, which was 35 per cent bigger in terms of exhibitor participation and exhibition floor space, aimed towards complementing the industry’s continuing efforts towards encouraging the use of more wood in further keeping with green and sustainable building and construction practices.

This year’s edition of the trade show featured 12 international pavilions hosted by participating countries like the US, Canada, Germany, France, China, Malaysia, Cameroon and Congo, among others.

"We were highly impressed by the display of technology, the massive presence of major companies and the numerous interactions and stakeholders of the industry at this year’s event,” said Ngole Philip Ngwese, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife for Cameroon.

"Participating at ‘Dubai WoodShow’ has allowed us the opportunity to showcase Cameroon's large wood market, which includes 300 different species of trees out of which 60 are being used. I am glad that we have created opportunities for wood transformation and have also increased our contact list of potential investors to Cameroon.”

One of the main highlights of ‘Dubai WoodShow 2013’ was a special seminar focusing on the various possibilities to be gained from building with wood. The seminar covered four timely topics, which included the use of wood as a building material in the GCC; wood as a design component of architectural projects; the current state of wood use in the GCC and timber legality.

“Dubai WoodShow 2013 was a complete success. This year’s event has so far, generated over Dh100 million in sales, let alone the new partnerships and opportunities created among the exhibitors and potential clients that visited during the show’s three-day run,” said Dawood Al Shezawi, chairman, Dubai WoodShow Organizing Committee.

“We are also grateful for the overwhelming response that we have received for the preparations we made for this year that included a larger exhibition area, strategic seminars and key networking events.

“As a result, we have already received advanced bookings for next year’s event—which we promise will be larger,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service