04/06/2008 - 05:49 PM

The finalists of the internationally recognized Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award® have been selected. A record 126 entries from 93 companies has come down to twenty finalists.

Innovation, ingenuity and new opportunities to embrace technological advancement will be abundant at IWF 2008. “With a record number of entries, the 2008 competition was one of the most competitive ever,” commented Richard A. Campbell, IWF 2008 Challengers Award Committee Chairman.

The Challengers Award® known throughout the world as the woodworking industry’s highest honor recognizes advancements in technology or significant contributions to environmental improvement; and focuses on companies who have distinguished themselves by developing innovative technology in products, services, or manufacturing techniques. The award challenges IWF exhibiting companies to develop revolutionary, creative, ingenious, forward thinking technology, materials, services or safety devices that advance the industry.
The finalists are (listed alphabetically, not according to rank or score along with their entry):

Accu-Systems, Inc.- Mortise Tenon Haunch Machining Center (Booth number 9852)
Biesse Wood Div./ Brenna Macchine Srl- N.C. Through-feed Machining Center (Booth number 5753)
Carter Products Company, Inc.- Sand Trac Totalizer SD -1000 (Booth number 5400)
DUX Area, Inc.- DUX Advanced Laminar Airflow Technology (Booth number 1231)
DV-Systems/Delle Vedove USA, Inc.- UV-X (Booth number 8662)
FS Tool Corporation/FS Curing- Aerotech (Booth number 8252)
Giben International, SpA- Zero Active Drive Beam Saw (Booth number 9306)
The Hain Company/The- Folding Digital Measuring System (Booth number 4853)
NAP GLADU- Next G Series Diamond & Carbide Inserts Cutting Tool (Booth number 5973)
Onsrud Cutter- Tuff Core® (Booth number 8206)
ShopBot- ShopBot Buddy with Power Stick (Booth number 8436)
Super Thin Saws- UltraCem-coated blades (Booth number 9000)
Techniks- ATEMAG Floating Aggregate w/Chip Guide (Booth number 8063)
TenonCam- TenonCam-CNC System (Booth number 4059)
Timesavers Inc.- Timesavers Random Air Motion Blow-off (Booth number 5713)
Unimerco Inc.- Hydro Tool Holders with Chip Diverter (Booth number 4918)
Vortex Tool Company, Inc.- The Venturi System (Booth number 8952)
Weinig Group- Variomat (Booth number 8606)
Weinig Group/Raimann- SafetyPlus (Booth number 8606)
WoodEye North America/Innovative Vision AB- Automatic NHLA Grading of Hardwoods (Booth number 9840)

This year’s finalists include three first-time exhibitors, Dux Area, The Hain Company and TenonCam. “The products entered for the IWF 2008 Challengers Award® competition have been some of the best ever. The industry as a whole will all be winners by utilizing these new products entered by IWF exhibitors from all over the globe,” added Charles R. (Tommy) Tomkins, IWF 2008 Chairman and President of Cresent Fine Furniture Company, based in Gallatin, Tennessee. Among these finalists, seven outstanding exhibiting companies will be selected by panel of ten judges during the last round of judging, which takes place on August 19, one day before the opening of IWF 2008. These seven winning companies will receive the Challengers Award® during a special awards ceremony on Wednesday, August 20th at 1:30pm. The judges for 2008 Challengers Award® are: Chairman Richard Campbell; Myron Carlson, Lund Boat Company; Paul Fetzer, Fetzer Architectural Woodwork.; Marlin Horst, Premier Custom Built; Michael Fredrigo, Nucraft Furniture Co.; Greg Krodel, Masterbrand Cabinets Inc.; Doug Mock, Mock Woodworking Company; Dennis Condra, Cresent Fine Furniture Company; Stephen Wellborn, Wellborn Cabinet Inc.; and Gary Daniels, Schnadig Corporation.

About IWF- International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair-U.S.A. ®
The largest woodworking technology trade show in the Western hemisphere is held every other year at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, and is ranked among the largest trade shows in the world. IWF attracts over 43,000 visitors from every level of the industry and over eighty countries.
IWF 2008 will take place Wednesday – Saturday, August 20-23, 2008 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and is owned and sponsored by American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America (WMMA), Woodworking Machinery Industry Association (WMIA).
For more information about the International Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Supply Fair-USA®, go online to www.iwfatlanta.com, or call 404-693-8333.


(IWF)