HGTV’s Dan Wellens Wins Silver in Minnesota’s Best Furniture Awards
Dan Wellens, owner of Country Tables & Furniture, has shipped more than 5,500 tables from his Cologne, MN shop. A unique combination of artisan and highly focused businessman, Wellens added a new accolade recently as he was voted a Silver Award in the 2022 Minnesota’s Best Furniture Store competition held by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Wellens […]
Applying Infrared Technology to Furniture and Wood Processing
To keep high-quality wood furniture or precious parquet flooring appealing for a long time, their surfaces need to be elaborately prepared and sealed. Infrared heat processes are efficient without damaging the wood. Infrared heat for wood processingWood processes benefit from infrared technology in a number of ways. Infrared radiation transmits energy without contact into materials […]
JTB Furniture Triples Packaging Speed with IWF Show Discovery
In 2016, a Mississippi furniture company management team headed to the IWF Wood Show in search of a better packaging solution for one of their production lines. They found one. The team had been frustrated with their current methodology and knew there had to be a simpler solution. After reading about EAM-Mosca strapping systems and […]
West Wood Products Opens First East Coast Plant
Charleston, SC—Laminate engineered panel and wood component firm West Wood Products (IWF Booth C2430) says its new, 60,000-sq.-ft. plant near Charleston, SC is now operational, giving the firm three locations and a national footprint for the first time. Headquartered in Rancho Dominguez, CA, West Wood Products has a headquarters plant there, and also operates a […]
The Wood Pastor Shares His Plans and His Business. Meet Him at IWF—Podcast
Stephen Michutka, owner of Lumberton, Texas-based The Wood Pastor, is a craftsman who learned woodworking by doing, following plans, and picking up technique along the way. “I began building several years ago because well…I’m cheap. My son needed a bed and I was determined to figure out how to design and build it myself,” Mitchutka […]
Finalists Named in IWF 2022 Design Emphasis Student Furniture Design Competition
Atlanta, GA—IWF 2022 Design Emphasis adjudication yielded 48 Finalist Projects from a field of 75 entries. The Design Emphasis Student Furniture Design Competition is widely acclaimed as a foremost furniture competition for U.S. college students. Sponsored by IWF and its owners WMIA and WMMA, the Design Emphasis competition affords students a platform to demonstrate design […]
‘Scalability’—New Marker for a Well-run Woodwork Business?
Best practices in business management evolve over time, as experts adapt to changes in technology, materials, and—when it comes to workforce—society at large. From Henry Ford’s manual assembly line to Tesla’s robotic workflow, materials and end products change. While managers in many industries can lay claim to “exceptional conditions” due to markets and end products, […]
FirstFacts for Exhibitors: Hitch Your Marketing Star to IWF Woodworking Influencers
Atlanta, GA—IWF Woodworking Influencers Lounge (Booth A10620) sponsored by Shaper Tools, will see more than two dozen of the most popular online personalities drawing hundreds of shop owners and many industry managers and operations professionals who follow them on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. All exhibitors will benefit from the traffic “halo effect” of these online woodworking stars […]
Fast-tracking New Furniture Plant, Albany Industries Hunts for Workers
Calhoun City, MS—Upholstered furniture manufacturer Albany Industries will add 85 jobs in a 52,388-sq.-ft. plant in Calhoun City, MS by year end. Albany Industries was founded in 1995 in New Albany, MS. The vertically integrated manufacturer employs 700 people, producing upholstered furniture at four factories in three states. Albany says its vertical integration structure allows […]
Ikea Closes 3 Russian Factories, While U.S. Stores Face Furniture Shortages
Swedish furniture giant Ikea suspended its operations in Russia and Belarus in response to the Ukraine invasion, closing three Russian factories and laying off 2,500 workers. Ikea also halted buying from its 47 Russian and 10 Belarus suppliers, ending imports to Sweden, and closed retail operations in Russia, laying off 12,500 according to a report […]