It was for the first time that the three main events of Russian furniture industry – Moscow International Furniture Industry Congress (MIFIC), specialized exhibitions Mebel-2007 and ZOW – were held at the same time and same site. From 12 to 16 November, the Expocentre Central Exhibition Complex at Krasnaya Presnya had been the main meeting point for furniture industry professionals.

This year, the ZOW exhibition confirmed its status as an international and exclusive event: the leading suppliers and manufacturers of fittings, materials and complement parts for the furniture industry presented their novelties and achievements. The best models were shown by over 110 companies, such as Cinetto Flli srl, Ferrari s.p.a, Formica IKI OY, Formenti E Giovenzana, Homanit, Imawell, Ilcam, NOMET, Scilm SpA, Vibo SpA, ABET LAMINATI, AQUALES, ММ Industry, Sveza, REHAU, Slotecks and many others. The ZOW exhibition Moscow 2007 was visited by over 14,000 furniture industry experts both from Russia and abroad. Participants and visitors of the exhibition were glad to feel free creative atmosphere of the ZOW and see high concentration of business activity at the site. This fact undoubtedly demonstrated that the exhibition’s professional level was high and that the industry community was greatly interested in this event.
Great interest of the ZOW participants was aroused by the real furniture factory where the whole furniture production process was demonstrated, from design to the end product. The factory had been built and put into operation by IMOS AG company and Homag leading equipment producer. The furniture factory running at the exhibition let the Russian furniture experts watch and evaluate operation of its software and high-tech equipment meeting all European standards, and demonstrated how various production sections got connected within one production process.
MIFIC hosted the discussion of the most urgent matters of the furniture industry. It is certain that MIFIC has become the starting point for establishing strong partner relations, working out joint development projects and expanding cooperation between domestic and foreign furniture market experts.
Seminars, master classes, round tables, as well as business networking exchange took place within the Congress framework. But the main events had been the four conferences, of which the one - Design as the business instrument of the 21st century - attracted most of attention of the Congress participants. Its main idea was to show that today the design concept greatly changed and is no more a nice shell but first of all helps understand the customer. Strategic approach in the furniture industry, competition in the furniture market, brand making and its legal protection, new promotion technologies – these and other interesting issues were in the focus of attention of participants attending the conference Marketing in Furniture Industry: Main Trends and Competitive Innovations. Issues discussed at the conference Furniture Industry: Components, New Materials and Fittings for Furniture Production are routine practice for domestic and foreign companies. The conference participants observed modern varnishing techniques and new design schemes based on the use of lightweight structures. The conference Tekhnodrev-Furniture: Equipment, Technologies and Tools for Furniture Production was dedicated to the issue of complex solutions in technological and equipment sphere for the furniture and woodworking industries.
One of the prominent activities at MIFIC had been the operation of the consultant business-centre. The participants of this event were able to establish partner relations with their colleagues in the industry, talk to the press, get individual free expert consultations and receive answers to questions referring to specialized education and labor market in furniture industry, selection of equipment and complement parts for furniture production, design in furniture industry, IT technologies in furniture industry, investments into furniture industry. Leaders of the largest Russian and foreign furniture enterprises, representatives of governmental bodies, the business elite, professional associations and higher educational establishments, as well as leading mass-media took part in the activities of the consultant business-center.

The 3rd MIFIC Moscow International Furniture Industry Congress and the 5th ZOW International Specialized Exhibition will also take place in the Expocentre Central Exhibition Complex from 24 to 28 of November, 2008, along with the 20th exhibition Mebel-2008.