Today we live in a digital world where we buy & sell goods, interact with people socially and in business. We are educated through e-learning platforms, we read news stories as they happen, we fill out forms online that were once done on paper and so on. Life as we know it has changed and is becoming increasingly advanced through digital and web based technologies, especially through the use of mobile devices. We live in an ‘always on’ environment. So why remind you of this? We all know it right? It’s very easy to get caught up and lost in our own little worlds that we have created using today’s accessible technology.

Keeping it real. The importance of human interaction, having face to face communication is still imperative to forming and maintaining a successful relationship whether it be personal or business. As the significance of touch and feel, watching and listening for the customer is huge, it can quickly be converted to a sale or install confidence for the conservative buyers for later conversions. For the person wanting to attend, having no intention of buying or selling, it can be a learning experience and a way of making friendships and or an entry point to a specific industry.

This year in June I am attending ElmiaWood 2017 in Sweden. Yes, it is a long way to travel from Australia, however I feel for my business, both products and services combined the timing has never been better. Globally Forestry is doing well, there is a demand for wood, the world population is growing at a rapid rate and any company or individual that recognizes the importance of attending such fairs will benefit from mingling with thousands of professionals in the industry. They will also have the opportunity to watch the latest machines and tech demonstrations that highlight their ability to outperform their competitors.

A CenterPoint for Europe but also for the World. Although Australia and NZ plays host to some similar and much smaller events, attending ElmiaWood 2017 will shed light to world class innovations and ideas that we as a southern hemisphere industry can learn and adopt from. I hope to see you there!