Shanghai, China—For centuries, Chinese culture has held eight as the most fortuitous of numbers. And that was certainly the case for just about everyone who participated in the 8th Annual Domotex Asia/Chinafloor (DACF) market last month at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre here.

Indeed, the number eight seemed to encompass this year’s show—800 exhibitors encompassing approximately 800,000 square feet of space in eight soccer-ball sized exhibition halls.

“We have been blessed with extremely good fortune,” said a smiling Wilbert Heijmans, director of VNU Exhibitions Asia, one of the producers of the event, along with Deutsche Messe AG, which also organizes the German Domotex. “Not only are we experiencing record numbers of exhibitors and attendees, everyone is upbeat and reporting good results.”

He noted the 2005 show occupied just under 500,000 square feet, with 600 exhibitors and 25,300 visitors. Comparing the two years, 2006 saw a 62% increase in exhibition space, a 33% spurt in exhibitors and 29% more traffic.

These numbers mean DACF is now the largest flooring event in Asia, and one of the top three all-encompassing flooring shows in the world, alongside Domotex Hannover and Surfaces. Heijmans noted when it comes to just the wood and laminate segments, “DACF is the largest flooring show in the world for these product categories.”

Thomas Baert, president of wood and laminate manufacturer China-floors and one of the founders of the show, said the overall quality in terms of both exhibitors and attendees “has been fantastic.”

Some of the more well-known international and American companies at the market included Beaulieu of America; Armstrong, which announced its 50/50 joint venture with Chinese wood manufacturer Nature; Tarkett; the Krono Group was strongly represented by a number of its divisions, including Kronotex, Kronospan and Krono Bejing; fiber suppliers such as Solutia and Honeywell, and so on. In addition, numerous other non-Chinese companies were well represented by their local distributors who, in some cases such as HiStep, took out larger spaces than a number of mills. HiStep distributes products such as Quick-Step and ParKy in China.

DACF was not just about flooring products as the show played host to FloorTech Asia ’06. Starting a day prior to DACF’s official opening, FloorTech presented the latest in flooring manufacturing, technology and supplies. In addition to machines, supply materials crucial to the industry were on display, including timber and veneer; paper for laminate, and coatings for all segments.

Also, with sports taking on a bigger role in China, in part due to the 2008 Olympic Games being hosted in Bejing, a special “Sports Arena” was set up. Along with suppliers of sports floors, numerous seminars designed to enhance the communication between industrial experts, suppliers and buyers took place.

What makes DACF unique among the major flooring events, though, is the visitors, especially those coming from the U.S. As was the case last year, FCNews spotted numerous mill, buying group and distributor executives scouting the show. Their purpose was two-fold; to see existing suppliers from whom they source private-labeled goods as well as to possibly find new partners.

Many Chinese companies expressed their desire to one day market their own brands in the U.S. Within China, many brands are well-known, but in Europe and the U.S. they do not exist. When it comes to exporting, the country currently is still primarily an OEM market, a term used for private label.

“China is fast becoming the main hub in the Asia Pacific region at which to source affordable floor covering materials of high quality,” Baert concluded. “China is a major player in the world flooring market, due in large part to the competitive production cost. But, also because local producers have made great improvements in the quality of domestically produced flooring covering materials.”

Hongfan Li, president of China Wood International (CWI), a consulting and market research firm, noted approximately 95% of wood flooring manufacturers in China are OEM. “This mode was employed 20 years ago when it was difficult for China’s exporters to have their own brands. To export by OEM for brand owners reduces cost and makes enlarging production easier.”