The 15th edition of the most important trade fair in Latin America and the Caribbean for wood processing, furniture manufacturing and interior design has come to a successful close. Formerly known as the “Feria Forestal Mueble y Madera”, interzum bogota brought together more than 13,000 visitors with representatives of companies from the entire value chain and renowned industry experts. Over 220 exhibitors traveled from Colombia and around the world to showcase their product innovations, make a variety of contacts and explore the latest industry trends.

This year’s edition of the trade fair saw an increase of over 40 percent in exhibitor participation. Clear evidence of the strategic importance of interzum bogota on the global market is the high level of international participation – more than 70 percent of exhibitors came from countries such as Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Italy, Germany, India and the United States. Hernán Osorio, Director for Latin America at exhibitor Hettich, said: “Events like interzum bogota are of paramount importance for the industry, as they allow us to exchange ideas in person and network efficiently.”

interzum bogota is part of the interzum brand family, which, in addition to interzum in Cologne, includes key industry events such as interzum guangzhou in China and interzum forum italy in Bergamo, Italy. With the integration of interzum bogota, Koelnmesse’s Living, Contract & Public Spaces portfolio includes an international-quality event in Colombia that attracts a diverse international audience and plays a central role as an innovation, communication and business platform in the region.

Christian Guarín, Managing Director of Koelnmesse Colombia, was delighted with the success of interzum bogota 2024. “We are extremely satisfied with the results of this year’s event. The trade fair was once again able to confirm its position as the leading industry event in Latin America, further strengthening the appeal of the Colombian wood and furniture industry and thus making an important contribution to positioning the country as a strategically important market. This puts interzum bogota on a par with our leading international industry events in Germany, Italy and China,” says Guarín.

The focus of the exhibition was on the presentation of innovative and sustainable products and technologies. Visitors were able to get a comprehensive picture of the most modern production facilities, the latest global design trends and the latest solutions for the resource-saving use of materials.

The diverse event program also included over 70 conferences and workshops, including the Creative & Innovation HUB, the Smart Talks, the Wood Talks, the Fedemaderas Forum and the Business Rounds. Renowned experts from Colombia and around the world shed light on topics such as the circular economy, digitalization and sustainable design. The centrally located Piazza and the special Contract Connection area focused on excellent design from Colombia, from smart furniture to innovative storage and automation solutions.

Other special events focused on issues such as deepening synergies between design, art and science, inclusive design, the transformative role of women in wood processing and strategies to combat deforestation. The cross-sectoral relevance of these topics results from a Colombian timber industry with a total area suitable for commercial forestry of over 24 million hectares, which, together with the wood processing industry and associated industry segments, contributes 0.9 percent to Colombia’s gross domestic product.

More than 40 buyers from countries such as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Croatia, Mexico and Venezuela took part in the business roundtable organized in collaboration with Corferias, the WWF and MinAmbiente. The expected order volume from these talks amounts to more than 2 million US dollars.

The responsible project managers, Ana Linda Garibello from Corferias and María de los Ángeles Silva from Koelnmesse, explained: “We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all supporters, exhibitors and visitors as well as the team behind interzum bogota. With their dedicated commitment, they have made a decisive contribution to the success of interzum bogota 2024 and thus to more growth and innovation in the wood and furniture industry in our region.

The organizers were able to count on the collaboration of strategic partners such as the Colombian Association of Interior Architecture and Design (ACAI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Federation of Wood and Woodworking Industries of Colombia (FEDEMADERAS) and the Colombian national education provider SENA. The support with valuable content made a decisive contribution to the quality of the event program and is an expression and proof of the high level of joint commitment to promoting quality and sustainability in the furniture industry in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the fair, WWF and FEDEMADERAS reaffirmed their commitment to a growing market for wood from legal, sustainable forestry in accordance with the provisions of the PIMLC (Pacto Intersectorial por la Madera Legal en Colombia), the cross-industry agreement for the legal sourcing of wood. The Pact aims to achieve a balance between the use of forests and the conservation of the ecosystem and its biodiversity by developing appropriate strategies and instruments to promote legal and sustainable forest management.

Planning for the next interzum bogota from May 12 to 15, 2026 is already in full swing so that the event can continue to offer a powerful platform for innovation, sustainability and the development of new business areas in the fields of wood processing, furniture production and interior design.