AIMMP brings the sector together to discuss the future of wood and furniture in Portugal

On November 28th, AIMMP – the Portuguese Wood and Furniture Industry Association – is organising the sector’s 8th national congress, under the motto ‘Towards Excellence’.The event will take place at the Grande Hotel de Luso Congress Centre and is dedicated to the sector’s players, namely its entrepreneurs and associates.

The event, which must be registered for free by 14 November, will bring together experts, businesspeople and influential figures to discuss current issues and future prospects for the Wood and Furniture Industry. Strategically located in the centre of the country, the congress facilitates access for participants from all over Portugal and will be attended by Rui Ladeira, Secretary of State for Forestry, and Carla Mouro, Assistant Secretary of State for Equality.
The 8th Congress of the Wood and Furniture Industries will have a diverse programme and varied dynamics, promising to be informative and inspiring. The day will end with a dinner in honour of the entrepreneurs.
The opening session will be led by Isabel Damasceno, President of the CCDRC – Centre Region Coordination and Development Commission, and will feature Miguel Macedo, Lawyer, in an analysis of the national economic scenario debated in a conversation with Economist and Manager Jaime Quesado.

This will be followed by the panel ‘5 Stories Outside the Curve,’ where five entrepreneurs from the sector will share innovative and transformative experiences. The programme also features prominent names such as Alfredo Dias, Professor and Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra, who will discuss the role of academia in training and research, and Pedro Dionísio, Professor at ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and author of the new book AI_Novator, who will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on company marketing. There will also be space for themed workshops with a more specialised slant depending on each participant’s area of interest.

For Vítor Poças, President of AIMMP, this congress represents a very important meeting for the industry and a strategic moment for defining its future, emphasising that ‘the 8th AIMMP Congress is an opportunity to highlight the advances in our sector, but also to join forces in defining a path of excellence that we are following.’ He also concludes that ‘in a challenging global context, this event not only highlights the main protagonists – our entrepreneurs – but also reinforces our commitment to issues that are important to the sector. It’s also an opportunity for companies and entrepreneurs to strengthen their networking and knowledge, and an important initiative for consolidating the sector in the national and international context.”

The Congress will be closed by the Secretary of State for Forestry, Rui Ladeira, who will mark the conclusion of the debates and anticipate a special moment of tribute to the entrepreneurs that will take place during the Congress’ closing dinner.
On 29 November, exclusively dedicated to AIMMP Members, the programme continues with a series of sub-sectoral meetings offering a strategic space for internal dialogue and collective planning between AIMMP and its Members.