Even though business travel is not always fun and trade shows can be a grind, I've always considered the opportunity to visit international woodworking fairs to be a perk. That's a good thing, considering I have covered more than my fair share of shows for Wood & Wood Products these last 20 years, stretching from Hanover, Germany, to Nagoya, Japan and from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Montreal, Canada. My latest international woodworking show assignment took me to Valencia, Spain, for the 32nd FIMMA-MADERALIA Fair, held Nov. 9-12. All I knew about the show as I boarded an Iberia jet in Chicago was what John Zinn, former senior vice president of the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair, had told me a few years ago — that it is big. I didn't appreciate how big, though, until actually entering the massive and modern Feria Valencia building and seeing the exhibition with my own eyes.
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