Having welcomed some 53,325 visitors, the twenty-second edition of the MADRID INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE EXHIBITION finally closed its doors. Staged between 26th and 30th April, this fair presented the latest ideas and new features from the industry in the halls at FERIA DE MADRID through the participation of 901 exhibiting companies.
This edition, which presented a new layout within its 73,272 net square metres of exhibition space, was based on a unanimous effort on the part of the exhibitors to select the very best products and stage a carefully-designed presentation in all areas of the exhibition. Indeed, this exhibition highlighted the innovative capacity of companies within the industry, the high quality of their products and the originality of their designs, these being the keys aspects that enable them to maintain their competitive edge.
With regard to the origin of the visitors, we might mention the strong attendance of professionals from Madrid, accounting for 38.7% of the total, followed by visitors from Andalusia (11.1%), Castile-León (8.2%), Castile-La Mancha (7.3%), the Valencian Region (7%) and Galicia and Catalonia (3.7% each). The fair also welcomed buyers from the rest of the Spanish regions, including the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
We might also mention the 8.3% increase in the number of foreign visitors who attended this edition, a response to the strengthened promotional measures that were implemented abroad with this objective in mind. Among these measures, two International Guest Programmes were organized in collaboration with the Madrid Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (ICEX), respectively. Thus, the fair recorded the attendance of some 1,460 buyers from 78 countries, including professionals from Europe - mainly from Portugal, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands -, the United States and the Latin American region, not forgetting Mexico and Brazil.
The fair, which was inaugurated on the morning of 26th April by the President of the Confederation of Spanish Industry (CEOE), José María Cuevas, presented a highly appealing exhibition packed with numerous alternatives for creating personal ambiences in any style whatsoever. Lines based on an Oriental inspiration, a reworking of traditional formats and a fusion of styles were trends witnessed at many of the stands presented at this edition, which was characterized by its extensive range of warm and comfortable environments and, generally speaking, its ideas of timeless appeal.
The Fair Recognized the Best Designs
As is customary the Madrid International Furniture Exhibition 2004 presented its Fourth Design Awards on the afternoon/evening of 28th April. This form of recognition aims to serve as an incentive for creativity and quality among furniture manufacturers. The Awards are presented to those manufacturing companies that possess a design team or a designer who carries out product development and research.
As in previous years, the Jury was made up of members of the Governing Body of the Official College of Decorators/Interior Designers of Madrid, who selected the following companies and products as winners:
Company - Artes Moble S.A.
Awarded-winning Model: Bedroom nº 738
This model presents an excellent combination of additional items designed in an apparently simple style, based on a far-reaching study and design, executed exclusively in wood.
Designer: The company´s own design team.
*****
Company - Azahar Collection
Award-winning Model: Sideboard - Sculpture
Made of stainless steel and oak, this model of perfect proportions combines technology, texture and colour to produce a harmonious whole, without forgetting the purpose for which it was designed.
Designer: José Martins from the company, DEDOIS.
*****
Company - Tapicerías Gancedo
Awarded-winning Model: ´Jazz´ Series
In its 2005 collection the company´s own design, known as ´jazz´, was presented based on a series of shortened Ottoman designs of geometric appearance, appropriate for adorning any sophisticated space in which textiles help to create a special ambience.
Designer: Gancedo Design Team
Seventh Parque de Madrid Awards
