DIY 1 source Jun 30, 9:40 PM EDT Updated 2h ago 0 views

Day One: Wood Pro Expo kicks off with a home run

Article excerpt

Day One: Wood Pro Expo kicks off with a home run June 30, 2026 | 8:40 pm CDT googletag.cmd.push(function() { // Start by defining breakpoints for this ad. var mapping = googletag.sizeMapping() .addSize([768, 0], [320, 50]) .addSize([480, 0], [320, 50])…

Day One: Wood Pro Expo kicks off with a home run June 30, 2026 | 8:40 pm CDT

googletag.cmd.push(function() {

// Start by defining breakpoints for this ad. var mapping = googletag.sizeMapping() .addSize([768, 0], [320, 50]) .addSize([480, 0], [320, 50]) .addSize([1366, 0], [970, 90]) .addSize([992, 0], [728, 90]) .addSize([400, 0], [320, 50]) .addSize([360, 0], [320, 50]) .build();

googletag.slots["js-dfp-tag-wwn-970x90, -8"] = googletag.defineSlot("//83945039/WWN_970x90", [[970, 90], [320, 50]], "js-dfp-tag-wwn-970x90, -8")

.addService(googletag.pubads())

// Apply size mapping when there are breakpoints. .defineSizeMapping(mapping) ;

googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-wwn-970x90, -8'); });

Event Coverage

Day One: Wood Pro Expo kicks off with a home run

Larry Adams

June 30, 2026 | 8:40 pm CDT

Baseball legend Dale Murphy gets into a batting stance at the keynote address during Wood Pro Expo Florida.

Wood Pro Expo Florida convention and conference kicked off the morning of June 30 with a baseball legend and later tackled some of the most pragmatic and practical issues facing woodworkers, cabinet makers, closet manufacturers and more.

WPE, co-located with the Closet Conference Expo, is a premier regional marketplace and trade show for professional woodworkers, cabinet makers, and furniture manufacturers. It provides industry professionals with a venue to discover the latest technologies and explore emerging design trends. The event is designed specifically to help small-to-medium-sized shops and large-scale manufacturing facilities improve their operations and efficiency. 

While WPE's conference sessions featured practical, pragmatic programs, the multi-day event kicked off with a little fun and inspiration. Baseball icon Dale Murphy discussed the importance of team work and emphasized resilience and always having your team's back to achieve success. 

Murphy knew a lot about success in his 18 Major League Baseball seasons, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, Murphy compiled 2,111 hits, 398 home runs, and 1,266 RBIs with a .265 batting average. He won back-to-back National League MVPs (1982, 1983), 5 Gold Gloves, and 4 Silver Sluggers.

"Keep swinging," said Murphy, who is currently the managing director of Georgia Oak Partners, a private equity firm. "Swing for the fences. If you're going to get up there to hit, you might as well hit it a long way. So swing hard."

Will Sampson, editorial director, continued the morning with his well-known pricing workshop seminar, co-sponsored by AWI. The packed room heard Sampson explore the intricacies of pricing strategies and techniques every woodworking professional should know to price with confidence and protect their profits. He offered attendees a host of real-world tips to improve their pricing skills to guarantee profit and earn better work. From avoiding common pricing mistakes to accurately valuing custom work, attendees walked away with actionable insights to help build more profitable, sustainable businesses.

Will Sampson discusses pricing strategies at Wood Pro Expo Floriida

His talk included a last-minute small project of his own that included using his workshop CNC to produce signage for a politician/neighbor. What took them hours to produce, he was able to do in minutes, and he told the audience of how he was able to price the job that was a good price for them, made him some money, and was a win-win for all. His next step, he said, was to reach out to the competing political party because "they need signage too."

Keith Hill, president and senior network architect, NitroTek Inc., asked his crowd if their business could survive a 4-alarm fire. Hill tackled a topic many businesses don't think about until it's too late. Drawing from real-world experience, Hill emphasized the importance of protecting production technology and having not just a backup plan, but a backup plan for your backup plan. Attendees walked away with valuable insights on disaster preparedness, IT security, and the critical steps every woodworking business can take to keep operations running when the unexpected happens.

Social media influencer Brain Cairns, took the stage for his look at Hands-on Lean Manufacturing.  Cairns and Lynn Thomas from Quantum Lean will put participants though a hands-on, working lean manufacturing cell to get a real grasp of how lean works and why you should use it in your manufacturing plant.

Companies who want to increase productivity while maintaining quality and were thinking that CNC automation got a lot of answers at the panel discussion on Success on the Path to CNC Automation. Speaking on the topic was Megan Birch, Director of Business Operations, CCF Industries who talked about how CNC automation has helped CCF supply custom drawers and drawer accessories to its wide breadth of customers.

Ken Frye, Sales Director, KCD Software discussed the power and ease of use of software while Fabio Correa, co-owner of CNC Supply USA discussed the benefits of CNC technology while exploring the intricacies of installing this technology in your shop.

The conference portion of WoodProExpo ended with a series of roundtables to discuss the four main Wood Pro Conference sessions.

Day 2 of the show promises more educational opportunities and is the start of the trade show portion of the event. With dozens of exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge products spanning CNC machinery, CAD/CAM software, finishing solutions, and hardware visitors had a chance to see new products, live machinery demonstrations and more.

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

About the author

Larry Adams

| Editor

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).

`j`	Next card
`k`	Previous card
`r`	Read more on focused card
`?`	Show this help