Industry leaders headed to Mexico for yearly meeting

The Woodworking Industry Conference, an annual gathering of industry leaders, will hold its first event south of the border from April 12-15 at the CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

Open to members of the Wood Machinery Industry Association, Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers and North American Building Material Distribution Association, WIC is one of the industry’s most important educational and networking events.

The agenda will cover cyber security, woodworking education, the economy and much more, according to WMIA president Larry Hoffer.

“Cyber security is a very important topic,” Hoffer says. The seminar will be led by Malcom Harkins, a global chief information security officer for Cylance, a cyber security corporation. He will help people understand how to capitalize on new technology to improve their businesses but also protect their business.

“There’s also a session on the importance of career and technical education and the legislation that funds woodworking education programs. For that we have a few speakers from Skills USA speaking about how this type of education benefits students and how we can encourage more students to get involved in the industry.”

Christopher Kuehl, of Armanda Corporate Intelligence, will provide members with an economic outlook.

The WIC schedule also includes social gatherings, group meals and a golf tournament.

For information, visit www.wmia.org.

This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue.