My long relationship with BIFE

I can say that I have a relationship long with BIFE, we've only known each other for 25 years. We only meet once a year, in September, and in all these years we have never missed each other. At the beginning of each fall I have been there, either as a visitor or as a participant, celebrating with all those involved the celebration of the wood. I participated first as a researcher at the National Wood Institute, then as an entrepreneur as a distributor of finishing products and later as a representative of a multinational company.

We evolved together

We have seen the evolution of the fair from year to year, but also the fall from the crisis. I felt the participants' fears of rising timber prices or a decline in exports to Russia and Ukraine, but also the thrill of the recovery from the crisis. I witnessed the evolution of the fair, how it was beginning to resemble the big international fairs.

I remember how years ago, by a twist of fate, the fair taught me to live with the competition and learn to be more competitive, better in my field. After years of furniture manufacturers and accessory dealers sitting next to each other at the fair, BIFE decided to do specialized trade shows, putting competitors together. I thought that edition would be a total fiasco. I was wrong. We learned to live with each other in the same market, to respect each other, to be professionals. We understood the notoriety of the fair when more and more foreign companies started to attend the fair, both as visitors and as exhibitors.

First year at BIFE as a media representative

This year I will be there again. I have a different kind of excitement because it's my first year as a media representative. I want to see as much news as possible and write about it. To find out about the achievements, but also about the problems faced by manufacturers as well as suppliers of accessories and machinery. I want there to be interest and involvement so that this event does not go unnoticed.

Now is the time to start making your participation known. It is an event whose success will help each of us to grow. I believe that the 5 days of the fair are not enough to say everything you want to be known about you and your products. Preparing the ground in advance will bring a lot more interested people and will justify the expense of your participation at the fair.

I assure you that I will make my presence felt at BIFE, and my voice will be heard, here and elsewhere, urging people to visit the fair. But for maximum impact, you need to start early to show that you will be at BIFE in September.