At the conclusion of the W14 exhibition at the NEC, Masterwood pronounced that it was one of the busiest shows the company has experienced for some years.

Sales director Dave Kennard says: “It was four very hard working days with so many existing and new customers wanting to speak with us about our machines and software – we had more than double the staff on the stand compared to W12, yet we still had people queueing to see us.”

Live demonstrations of the new Master 3D software attracted a lot of attention, especially from existing customers who could see the extra versatility that the software could add to their current CNC machines.

To back up the Master 3D demonstrations half a football was produced on the five axis Project 365: “This was a great demo as the half sphere and engraved hexagon shape showed the full potential of the five axis.

“Visitors to the stand were impressed with the quality finish that was produced from just one spiral cutter, a true reflection of the Beckhoff system that allows full five axis work to be run accurately and with extremely smooth movements,” adds technical director Chris Alexander.

With further demonstrations on the M series MW1538 nesting machine, a Project TF CNC drilling machine, and a Tecnoma edgebander, the stand was kept busy throughout the show with many customers interested in the various complete packages of machine and software that Masterwood offers.

“With high numbers of customers in the UK producing solid timber work on their existing Masterwood machines,” says Chris, “it was also reassuring to see many customers looking at our range of software and machines for panel and bespoke furniture work, noting the high quality of build and versatility as a preference over price. Add to this software like MasterCabinet and Master 3D, then you have a package to suit any manufacturer’s requirements.”

After the W12 show, when the exhibition was shrinking fast, it was really positive for the industry to see a much bigger and more upbeat show and this must have been reassuring for all the customers attending. “We anticipated a good show,” says Dave, “but so far the response has been far greater than we expected, with over £3m-worth of CNC quotes already supplied to interested customers.

“With sales already coming in from the show, we all look forward to welcoming those new customers to the Masterwood family and look to see their businesses grow and prosper with us over the coming years.”

davek@masterwood.com