AWFS renames new-product awards

The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers, producer of the biannual woodworking industry fair in Las Vegas, is changing the name of its Sequoia new product awards to the AWFS Visionary Awards.

"We decided to change the name to better reflect what the award truly represents, and that is the new products and solutions that our exhibitors will offer their customers in order to improve their top and bottom lines and make them more responsive to their customer's needs,” AWFS executive vice president Angelo Gangone said in a statement.

“It is really our goal to emphasize the new products at the 2013 fair more than ever before as it continues to be the number one reason that buyers attend trade shows."

AWFS will also be modifying how the awards will be judged, selecting finalists prior to the show by a volunteer panel of woodworking manufacturing professionals.