Mebel 2015 and Forest and Man. Woodworking 2015 are working for the best of the industry

Expocentre Fairgrounds opened its doors for one of the largest in Russia and Eastern Europe furniture shows, the Mebel 2015 International Exhibition for Furniture, Fittings and Upholstery, and the first edition of the Forest and Man. Woodworking International Forum.

Mebel 2015 is organized by Expocentre ZAO with support of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Union of Timber Manufacturers and Exporters of Russia, the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, OAO Centrlesexpo, and under auspices of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

This year Mebel welcomes more than 700 companies from 27 countries which occupy 81,000 sq m to show their new collections and the best products. Germany has a national pavilion.

In his opening speech Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Georgiy Kalamanov pointed out that the exhibition and forum together were the most important event of the year for the development of the Russian timber industry.

President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin informed that the forum participants would discuss such important topics of the timber industry as attraction of investments, forest conservation, industry management, public-private partnership, and vocational training. This discussion is very important. At the same time such comprehensive international trade show as Mebel provides an opportunity to compare foreign and Russian-made products. According to Mr Katyrin, the number of exhibitors and participating countries shows the great interest in the exhibition.

General Director of Expocentre Sergey Bednov talked about Mebel exhibitors. He highlighted that out of 700 exhibitors 565 are Russian companies. “It proves that our furniture industry has been growing and will continue to grow,” said Mr. Bednov. He also noted that the display and many associated events would enable both exhibitors and visitors to get new ideas, interesting offers, sales leads, and beneficial deals.

The opening ceremony was also attended by State Secretary – Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Alexander Torshin, President of the Union of Timber Manufacturers and Exporters of Russia Miron Tatsun, and President of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia Aleksandr Shestakov.

Chairman of the Mebel 2015 Organizing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Russian State Duma Sergey Zheleznyak had a tour around the exhibition. Later he shared that he was happy to see “beautiful, diverse and creative furniture collections from many Russian regions”. “It makes me believe that the Russian woodworking and timber industries are growing. It is a traditional sector of this country’s economy. We support domestic manufacturers so that our consumers would have a choice,” said Mr Zheleznyak.

This year Mebel is co-located with the Forest and Man. Woodworking international forum. Many experts have already recognized that these two events complement each other perfectly. They believe that this format creates new opportunities for the industry and allows the events to grow and attract new participants.

To learn more go to www.meb-expo.ru