30 May The 63rd Yecla Furniture Fair closes its doors and already looks ahead to May 2026

CETEM has surprised everyone with innovative research on using insect farming to manage waste such as polyurethane foam

ALL EXHIBITORS GIVEN A FREE FMY POSTER LITHOGRAPH

The Yecla Furniture Fair (FMY) concluded its 63^rd edition today with a closing ceremony officiated by the president of FMY Executive Committee and Yecla’s mayoress, Remedios Lajara. She made a toast to the next edition, which will be held again in May 2026. The exact date will be announced in the coming days, following the meeting scheduled by the FMY Executive Committee.

During the closing ceremony, all exhibitors who participated in this 63^rd edition were given a very special gift: a lithograph of this year’s poster signed by Lidó Rico himself.

‘A poster as special as this year’s could not be reduced to a mere advertising graphic, so we decided to give it the status it deserves, that of a work of art,’ said the FMY. Each of the exhibiting companies then received one of the 110 lithographs from a limited and signed series of the poster, ‘a truly unforgettable souvenir’.

Finally, a draw was held for a cheque worth €2,000 to be spent at the exhibiting companies at the 63^rd edition. The voucher was raffled among all the visitors who placed an order worth at least €1,000 during the four days of the event. The company Suinta was in charge of presenting the prize, which went to Elisa Sousa Conde, from the Galician company Qsenta. There was also a 200-euro prize for the salesperson who made the winning sale, awarded to Amado Suárez.

EXHIBITORS’ AND PARTNERS’ COMMITMENT

Something that always characterises the Yecla Furniture Fair is its ability to turn its exhibition centre into a meeting and networking space. In this 63^rd edition, this was clear to see not only in the more than 90 participating companies, but also in the presence and participation of the associations and organisations with which the FMY maintains strong alliances: the Murcia Region Furniture and Wood Technology Centre (CETEM), the Official Association of Commercial Agents (COAC), and the Murcia Region Regional Association of Furniture and Wood Entrepreneurs (AREMA), not to mention the local and regional administration.

When it comes to COAC, this alliance materialises during the fair with the ‘Commercial Agent Day’ celebration, held on the second day, where they honoured two commercial agents with over 40 years of experience. As for Arema, they gave out their annual award on the third day to the Yecla-based company SANCAL.

INSECTS AT THE SERVICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Finally, it is worth highlighting once again CETEM’s presence (stand C9b) at the Yecla Furniture Fair, which this year had a surprising proposal combining science, creativity and environmental commitment. In collaboration with CEBAS-CSIC, they presented an innovative research line based on using insect farming to tackle one of the big challenges in the sector: managing plastic waste such as polyurethane foam.

This pioneering proposal in the habitat research field investigates how insects like Tenebrio molitor (commonly known as mealworms) can break down this type of foam using enzymes in their gut microbiome. This research highlights the role these insects play in turning waste into high value-added products.

What is more, not only do they help to reduce waste volume, but they also generate nutrient-rich biomass and by-products such as frass, insect excrement that is proving to be a powerful agricultural biofertiliser. ‘This approach, with great potential for plastic waste bioremediation, represents another step towards a more sustainable future for the furniture industry,’ CETEM points out.