Acimall, the Italian Woodworking Machinery and Tool Manufacturers Association, was established in Milan in 1966. It currently represents the interests of 215 companies, which together produce more than 85 percent of national turnover in a sector that includes 300 major corporations and 12 thousand staff, and produces sales of 1.4 billion euros (2003), 80 percent of which is from exports.

Through Cepra Spa, it publishes the magazines Xylon and Xylon International (in English) and organizes Xylexpo, an international exhibition that - together with Sasmil, the exhibition of semi-finished products and accessories for the furniture industry - represents the world's most important industry fair staged every even-numbered year.