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Grand Rapids, Mich., August 31, 2016 – More than 16,000 attendees had the opportunity to experience Stiles Machinery like never before at the industry’s largest tradeshow, the 2016 International Woodworking Fair held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Clearly exhibiting their position as the industry leader with the show’s largest display of manufacturing technology – nearly 26,000SQFT of booth space – Stiles offered live demonstrations on more than 50 cutting-edge machinery lines, as well as presenting software and service solutions designed to help manufacturers take the next step toward revolutionary speed and production.
The company is celebrating one of its most successful IWF show performances as of yet, noting double-digit sales growth and an astounding 65% increase in lead generation over their IWF 2014 success. “The marketplace for equipment sales is currently very robust and our strategies are in place to offer maximum support to our current and future customers,” explained Christian Vollmers president of Stiles. More than 25% of the show’s registered attendees visited the Stiles booth to take part in their countless live machinery demonstrations and gain consultation from one of the 200 industry experts working their booth. “We showed more than machines at this show, we showed what makes Stiles the industry leader; our resources and our dedication to the customer”, continued Vollmers. “We staffed over 200 experts in the booth to help our customers find solutions and to fulfill our promise that their ‘success is our business’.
A popular highlight of the IWF show was Stiles’ North American introduction of the revolutionary ‘Batch Size One Production’ work cell presentation. Through daily live demonstrations, over 500 furniture manufacturers witnessed the best in networked production as Stiles showcased this groundbreaking, fully autonomous cutting cell. This new, intelligent technology integrates the innovative HOLZMA HPS 320 flexTec automatic single line cutting system with Industry 4.0 technologies to create a fully-automated lean manufacturing solution geared towards eliminating human handling and ensuring consistent and repeated production rate and sequence. The robotic cutting system revolutionizes cutting batch size one or short-run custom cutting by completely redefining part flow in customized production using fully automated processes and unlimited recuts for single panel processing. Visitors were able to see how their own companies can gain added efficiency in processes by leveraging the system’s greater accuracy, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and work cell intelligence. 
For more than 50 years, Stiles has been helping manufacturers succeed. As the largest supplier of quality machinery, Stiles provides a Total Production Solutions approach by also offering equipment integration, financial services, education, service and parts. By having a wealth of solutions whether defined as people, products or services, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., Stiles has regional offices in High Point, North Carolina; Toms River, New Jersey; Coppell, Texas; and Rancho Cucamonga, California. Stiles is a proud member of the HOMAG Group, a global leader in the production of industrial machines for the manufacturing. Visit Stiles at www.stilesmachinery.com. For additional information, please contact Stephan W. Waltman, Vice President, Stiles Machinery, at 616.698.7500 or swaltman@stilesmachinery.com.
Stiles hosted another 500 customers on personal technology tours through the booth for more concentrated and private presentations on other new equipment advancements for zero edge technologies, robotic spray finishing, Industry 4.0 technologies, solid wood processing, and 5-axis CNC technologies, together with a wide variety of fully operating machinery for the woodworking, panel processing, and plastics industries. “We appreciated the opportunity to meet thousands of guests and share our technology and solutions with visitors from across the globe,” says Chris Dolbow, marketing manager for Stiles and the company’s IWF show chairman. “We wanted to focus on inviting our visitors to journey with us towards improving their production and making smarter decisions about their future, providing strategic recommendations that make sense for their business.” The Stiles booth which was more than 20 percent larger than the company’s 2014 exhibit, provided customers with a completely new design concept with improved sight lines, greater engagement and enhanced hospitality experiences. Attendees got to experience advanced digital interaction from intuitive technology kiosks and 360degree virtual tours of Stiles’ support service center in Grand Rapids, MI – the largest in the industry. “We focused on providing customers with a glimpse into the future of manufacturing by showcasing new, leading-edge technology that caters to growing market requirements, and enhancing their visit by providing booth navigation touchscreens and interactive digital displays to help attendees experience all that Stiles has to offer”, explained Dolbow. “This includes engineering solutions, proven software solutions, unparalleled service and technical support, education and training courses, enhancement technologies as well our machines.”
“The interaction with a customer is not just selling a machine”, explained Pekka Paasivaara, president of HOMAG Group AG during the Stiles press conference on Wednesday of the show. “It’s about helping customers in the brink of an industrial revolution, showing them that we have efficient product solutions as well as total service solutions, parts and technical assistance.” For more information on the resources and technologies showcased at IWF 2016 by Stiles Machinery, Inc. visit stilesiwf.com.
