China's fast-growing hardwood flooring industry will be the focus of a four-day meeting that is expected to include presentations from a number of individuals active in the U.S. market. Scheduled for Nov. 8-11, the China Wood Flooring Export & Import Conference will begin with a two-day conference at the Lake Malaren Golf Resort in Shanghai followed by product showcases and tours of manufacturing facilities in the area.

China Wood International (CWI), the trade group that is organizing the show, has announced that participants will include Timm Locke of NOFMA: the Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association, Joe Audino and John Clark of the National Wood Flooring Association, Ruud Steenvoorden, of the European Federation of Parquet Importers (EFPI) and Mohawk Industries' vp Dewevai Buchanan.

Also highlighting the meeting will be Zhang Senlin, chairman of China National Forest Product Industry Association (CNFPIA), who is scheduled to give a presentation titled "The impact of the China wood flooring industry and market development upon global trade." Sun Laijun, president of Suifenhe Longjian Shanglian, the largest timber trading company in China, will address the conference on "Raw material supply of Russian wood - policy and the industry moving forward" and Peng Hongbin, CEO of China's Krono Group will give a presentation titled "Chinese flooring market - brand establishment and strategy."

Show organizers note that the conference comes at a time when China's flooring industry continues to show significant growth. They report that China's output reached 310 million square meters last year and is growing at about 15 to 20 percent each year.