Sawmillers Show Up At EXPO

After six shows in Atlanta, Ga. dating back to 2011, the Southern Forest Products Assn., host of the biennial Forest Products Machinery & Equipment EXPO, decided to move the 37th edition to Nashville, Tenn. Held August 23-25, this was an exciting change for exhibitors and attendees alike—the Music City Center was in the heart of the city, allowing everyone the chance to not only walk from the variety of hotels and top-notch restaurants to the show floor but also enjoy all that Nashville has to offer by way of its world-famous music scene.

“The move to Nashville exceeded all expectations,” comments Eric Gee, SFPA’s Executive Director. “It was great to see so many members of the forest products industry in attendance to be a part of this historic moment. I’m extremely proud of the exhibiting companies that helped transform the exhibit hall into a first-rate networking space.”

EXPO 2023’s final floorplan topped out at 217 exhibiting companies—a record number of exhibitors since 2007—spread over 58,337 square feet of machinery, innovation, and solutions to meet with more than 1,200 attendees.

The three-day show covered everything from raw material handling to crane operations; metal detection and scanning technologies; log optimization, drying, grading, sorting, packaging, and distribution with 217 exhibiting companies over 58,337 sq. ft. SFPA estimates over 1,200 passed through the doors.

Show Events

On the opening day, sponsors USNR, Real Performance Machinery, Optimil, The Timken Co., Nyle Dry Kilns, and MiCROTEC hosted a welcome reception on the show floor that proved popular.

Day two was jam-packed with events. First, SFPA announced the 2022 John Edgar Rhodes Sawmill Safety Excellence Awards during the Sawmill & Safety Awards Breakfast. For the second year in a row seven mills received 2022 Sawmill Safety Awards with zero incidents among them. Attendees had the option of adding on the Productivity & Efficiency conference presented by Timber Processing magazine during the bulk of the day. The day ended with an open popcorn and beer reception in the Valutec booth to celebrate the 2023 Timber Processing magazine Persons of the Year, Chris and Jason Brochu from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.

The 38th Forest Products Machinery & Equipment EXPO’s host city and dates are to be announced soon, with registration to open in March 2025.