More international business. More innovations. More integration at Ligna 2015 in Hannover

More international business. More innovations. More integration. That's what visitors and exhibitors can expect when the international wood industry demonstrates its immense capabilities and innovative spirit at the upcoming LIGNA in Hannover, Germany. The event runs from 11 to 15 May 2015, and all the market leaders will be there to impress solution-seekers with a tremendous array of products and services.

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Together, they will present key technologies for every single links of the wood value chain - i.e. plant, tools and machinery for industrial furniture manufacturers, carpenters, joiners and cabinetmakers; solutions for processing and working with solid wood; sawmill technology; systems for wood panel and veneer production; forestry equipment and machinery; and a range of technologies for extracting energy from wood. And as diverse as the technologies on display may be, they are united in promoting greater efficiency for every stage of production and processing.

“LIGNA is championing the cause of greater efficiency and integration in production by means of advanced technology. Like no other trade fair in the world, it features entire production lines in action - as tangible proof that integrated production and Industry 4.0 are indeed within reach. LIGNA is an absolute must if you want to find out about the latest developments and advances in automation and digitization in the wood industry,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, the member of the Management Board at Deutsche Messe responsible for LIGNA. “Survival in today's competitive markets belongs to those who master the latest strategies, systems and solutions. The ‘fourth industrial revolution’ has reached the wood and furniture industries, sparking a move towards total integration that shows no signs of abating. To take advantage of this trend and remain competitive, manufacturers need to optimize their data flows. And that's true whether they are engaged in mass or one-off production. In the near future, workpieces, machines and logistic systems will be able to ‘talk’ to one another, and IT, telecommunications technology and manufacturing will merge to form a seamlessly integrated system. It's a new production paradigm and it offers enormous opportunities for everyone concerned.”

The theme of integrated production is central to many areas of the upcoming LIGNA show. Among much else, it will have its own Guided Tour and be addressed at a series of talks to be held within the on-site Robotation Academy.

The upcoming show will feature more than 1,500 exhibitors from over 40 countries, whose displays will fill some 120,000 square meters (over 1,290,000 sq. ft.) of space and impress solution-seekers in need of the latest furniture industry plant and equipment and innovative technologies for the wood and forestry industries. “Quite a lot of first-time exhibitors will be using this year's LIGNA to present their innovations to the world. They include providers of solutions for the joinery and cabinetmaking trades, manufacturers of machinery for the furniture industry, production automation specialists, and suppliers of technology for processing solid wood and for sawmilling. These newcomers -and the fact that some of our regular exhibitors have markedly increased their booked space - bode well for LIGNA 2015,” said Köckler. “LIGNA features a wealth of information on the latest products, trends and innovations. It provides the ideas, inspiration and solutions that wood industry professionals need in order to future-proof their business models.”

LIGNA's strong level of international participation sets it apart from rival shows. This year, its top ten exhibiting nations, apart from Germany, are Italy, Austria, China, Sweden, Taiwan, Switzerland, Turkey, France, Spain and the USA. Much of the growth in terms of leased exhibition space has come from Italy, China, Turkey and the USA.

One of the exciting new developments at LIGNA 2015 is that some of the fair's exhibitors of woodworking and processing equipment will be showcasing the non-wood capabilities of their machines. In other words, visitors will see machines that can handle not just wood, but plastics, composite panels, composites, insulation and construction materials as well. Some of the machine tools on display are even capable of processing light alloys. These additional, non-wood applications are advantageous in a range of fields, particularly caravan and boat building, vehicle customization, ship and aircraft interior finishing, and plastics processing and fabrication. The ability to process plastics and composites is also becoming increasingly important in the joinery and cabinetmaking trades.

CNC technology is also growing in importance in these trades. More and more joiners and cabinetmakers are investing in CNC processing centers in order to be able to deliver on the most exacting customer specifications and produce custom furniture and joinery quickly and at highly competitive rates. This growth is due in part to the increasing range of compact, high-performance options available at the trades end of the market and will be reflected at LIGNA, with its solid lineup of state-of-the art CNC technology. The exhibitors in halls 11, 12, 14 and 15 will present innovative solutions and entry-level CNC options for joinery and cabinetmaking firms of all sizes, from tech-savvy niche craftsmen to SMEs engaged in series production.

The other major new development at LIGNA 2015 is the premiere of the Wood Industry Summit, an intelligent, integrated platform comprising an exhibition area, a matchmaking platform, and a dialogue forum. The Summit targets exhibitors from international companies and economic regions that provide large-scale forestry machinery and other primary wood processing technologies. These exhibitors will have the opportunity to network directly with visitors from integrated companies operating in areas such as pulp and paper, forestry and log and timber processing. They will also meet forest owners, wood/timber merchants, investors, researchers and representatives of the timber-rich regions of Russia, China, Eastern Europe and North and South America. In this way, the Wood Industry Summit will broker new opportunities in growth markets.

Each day of the Summit will start with a brief lead-in presentation on a highly topical issue, followed by an in-depth lecture on market entry conditions for a selected export market. Each day's proceedings will also include presentations on various solutions by exhibitors and will be rounded off with a tour of the exhibition, followed by an expert discussion panel. Among the big highlights of the Summit will be the displays of John Deere equipment, as Dr. Köckler explains: “Thanks to the presence of John Deere and other key players, the Wood Industry Summit means that Hall 13 will, for the very first time, also feature large-scale forestry machines. John Deere's involvement effectively endorses the Wood Industry Summit and its chosen format, while at the same time making LIGNA's forestry technology offerings more international than ever.”

LIGNA 2015 will also feature the Fibers in Process@LIGNA marketplace - a group pavilion that will provide a wood industry perspective on the various processes and technologies used in the pulp and paper industry. As well as offering an integrated overview of the entire resource cycle in this industry, the pavilion will focus on measurement and control systems, process optimization in automation, industry services and asset management, and resource and energy efficiency.

The open-air site and neighboring pavilions will also feature a number of exhibitors offering the latest in sustainable forestry and wood-energy equipment and solutions.

Information & images by courtesy of Ligna

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