APF Exhibition 2022: Return of the Most Exciting Forestry and Timber Trade Show in the UK

The APF Exhibition is the largest and most exciting UK forestry trade event, including woodland, trees, timber, bioenergy, and fencing exhibitions. APF 2022 has been a long-awaited trade show for the forestry and timber industry, as it has been organized regularly every second year since 1976, and the last time it was held was in 2018. In 2022, APF is happily back, welcoming over 320 exhibitors and nearly 22,000 visitors to the grounds in Ragley Estate in Alcester, Warwickshire.

Wood-Mizer was geared up at APF 2022 to demonstrate its best sawmilling and woodworking machines and equipment, accompanied by experienced crew members. They gladly instructed visitors about operating the machines, gave practical advice about sawmilling, or just chatted about forest and wood life.

This year Wood-Mizer mainly concentrated on exhibiting sawmills with broader cutting capacity, including - the LT70WIDE, the LT40WIDE, the LT15CLASSIC WIDE, or the LX250, designed to sawmill logs as wide as 138 cm. Apart from the sawmilling demonstrations run on wide-head machines, the viewers could watch the MB200 SlabMizer flattening a large timber slab, the LT20 sawmill with the CookieMizer attachment for producing round wood cookies, or the EG300 board edger for trimming the rough sides of the boards. Last but not least, there was the MP360 planer/moulder with four cutterheads designed for making final products such as flooring, sideboards, door frames, and more. Professionals visiting the Wood-Mizer stand asked about a selection of Wood-Mizer sawmill blades and blade maintenance equipment. All the above machines and equipment were offered to the APF guests, with the LT40 sawmill on a special anniversary promo. 

The LT40 sawmill was one of the most prominent machines at the Wood-Mizer stand as it has been celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Since 1982, Wood-Mizer’s bestselling sawmill revolutionized the sawmilling industry by allowing ordinary people to mill the logs quickly, affordably, and anywhere. Its WIDE Mobile version with a gasoline engine was sold during APF 2022 to the Forestry Department of Balmoral Royal Estate in Scotland, replacing an old-fashioned, heavy, circular sawblade machine.

At the Wood-Mizer stand, there was plenty of room for sawmilling demos of large oak logs on the LT70WIDE Remote, LT40WIDE, LT15CLASSIC WIDE, and the LX250 sawmills. The machines attracted many viewers, including professionals and hobbyists, seniors, families with children and pets, and even kindergarten groups. The viewers observed the cutting demos and wondered if the sawmills with thin and narrow blades would handle wide and massive logs, but to the surprise of many, the machines did their job very well!

Wood-Mizer’s brilliant performance during the show wouldn’t have been possible without the participation of its crew – Wood-Mizer UK’s Branch Manager David Biggs, the Agents Keith Threadgall and Martin Phillips, and the support team from Customer Service, Sales, and Marketing from Poland.   

A massive thank-you to all the visitors who stopped by the Wood-Mizer stand, willing to watch the cutting demo, listen to the sound of sawmilling, wipe the sawdust off the board and chat with us. 

The UK’s APF 2022 show was organized by CONFOR (Confederation of Forest Industries in the UK) and co-hosted by the official media partner Forestry Journal, along with such sponsors as AW Jenkinson, Husquarna, Eurofest, Tubex, and others. The APF Demo Zone, where the exhibitors could present their machinery at work, was accompanied by numerous competitions and championships – the World Pole Climbing Championship, the European Chainsaw Carving Championship, the UK Open Tree Climbing Competition, the Woodland Crafts, Horse Logging, World Log-to-Leg Championship, and the British Open Fencing Championships.

All these events were attended by hundreds of viewers every day, who could also take part in various work zones and seminars held by the exhibitors. APF is believed to be the largest and the most meaningful international trade show for the forest and timber industry in the UK, connecting thousands of visitors with leading manufacturers of machinery and equipment designed for forestry, farming, sawmilling, woodworking, fencing, landscaping, as well as with the advocates of environmental protection and sustainable management solutions. 

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