Post: BoardTech 2026 — a Look Back at Two Great Days in Edenvale

November 4, 2026

BoardTech 2026 — a Look Back at Two Great Days in Edenvale

The second edition of BoardTech is done and dusted, and we’re still riding the high from it.

On 17–18 September, we opened the doors at Nukor’s headquarters in Edenvale for what turned out to be our best two days yet — more visitors than last year, a bigger group of exhibitors and a lot of really good conversations happening across the floor.

It’s still relatively early days for BoardTech, but it’s starting to feel like something. People came prepared this year. They knew what they wanted to see, who they wanted to speak to, and in a few cases, they came back having done some thinking since 2025. That’s a good sign.

Who was there

This year’s exhibitor line-up was the strongest we’ve had. Alongside Nukor, we were joined by FIT, Roco Fittings, Freud, Kayreed Board & Timber, National Edging, Cabinet Vision by Manmade, Pearlman Veneers, Rubio Monocoat, TFC Mouldings, Soudal, Upper Edge and Tegs Timber — covering everything from machinery and tooling to decorative boards, fittings, software, veneers, adhesives and finishes.

Having that range under one roof is what makes BoardTech useful. Visitors could move between stands, compare products, watch machinery running and speak directly to the people who actually know what they’re talking about. No middlemen, no brochures doing the talking.

The people make it

The machinery draws people in, but it’s the conversations that make the day worthwhile.

There’s something genuinely different about catching up with customers face to face — hearing what they’ve been working on, what’s changed in their business, what problems they’re trying to solve. You don’t get that over email.

We also met a number of new faces this year, which was great. Introducing them to exhibitors, watching new connections form across the floor — that’s exactly the kind of thing we hoped BoardTech would become when we first put it together.

The big moment — Nukor’s Softforming Edgebander

The highlight for us this year was launching Nukor’s new Softforming Edgebander at the show.

It’s a first for the South African market, and we’d been looking forward to this one for a while. Having the machine running live on the floor meant visitors could actually see softforming technology in action — what it does, how it handles decorative profiles and shaped edges, and what it could mean for their production. That’s a very different experience from reading a spec sheet.

Getting to do product launches at BoardTech is something we want to build on. It gives exhibitors a real platform and gives visitors a reason to keep coming back.

What’s next

We’re already thinking about 2027.

The goal is straightforward — more exhibitors, more product launches, more of the industry in the room. But the thing we’re most focused on is keeping the atmosphere that made these first two years work. BoardTech isn’t a trade show. There are no stages or keynotes or lanyards with QR codes. It’s a space where people can walk around, ask questions, see things running and have proper conversations with people who know their stuff.

We want it to be the one event each year where you come away having actually learned something — or found a supplier you didn’t know you needed, or made a connection that ends up mattering.

Source: Nukor