LIGNA 2019: International innovations marketplace for the wood industry

2018-12-4

Hannover, Germany. LIGNA will next run from 27 to 31 May 2019 in Hannover, Germany. Over 1,500 companies will use the trade show to present the latest woodworking and wood processing plant, machinery and tools on some 130,000 square meters (nearly 1.4 million sq. ft.) of exhibition space. “This is where exhibitors from all over the world show an equally international trade audience how their solutions, applications and ideas will shape the future of the wood industry. Whether it’s about digitization, automation, IoT platforms or collaborative systems, LIGNA is where innovations are shown for the first time – and on a scale that is simply unrivalled. LIGNA’s exhibitors come from around 50 countries and regions, and its over 90,000 visitors come from around 100 countries and regions. These figures make LIGNA the most international trade fair of its kind. Visitors can expect to see innovations across all display categories, from forestry technology, furniture and window manufacturing, through to tooling systems and surface technology. They will encounter live demonstrations of entire furniture production plants, IoT platforms for Industry 4.0, and a wealth of research projects and networking opportunities spanning all parts of the wood industry,” said Christian Pfeiffer, Global Director LIGNA & Woodworking Events at Deutsche Messe, at the opening press conference for the LIGNA.Conference in Guangzhou, China. “One of the big challenges is product individualization, which is putting manufacturers under pressure to deliver customized products within the same turnaround, profitability and efficiency constraints as the mass production methods it is displacing. It’s these sorts of challenges that LIGNA exhibitors will be presenting solutions for in May of 2019.”

LIGNA 2019 has three focus themes: “Integrated Woodworking – Customized Solutions”, “Smart Surface Technologies” and “Access to Resources and Technology”.

“Integrated Woodworking – Customized Solutions”
In the wood industry, there is keen interest in IoT application scenarios, such as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, as a means of further boosting production plant efficiency. In such scenarios, humans remain an integral part of the production process but are supported by cyber-physical assistance systems, such as collaborative robots, automated guided vehicles and smart worker support technologies. The trend is thus towards hybrid human-machine production systems. “Visitors to the next LIGNA will gain captivating insights into what the future has in store for the furniture and woodworking industries,” explained Pfeiffer.

Smart Surface Technologies
Themed “Smart Surface Technologies”, the surface finishing exhibits at LIGNA 2019 will span all the intelligent processing solutions needed to cater for today’s surging demand for haptic, matt and reflective surfaces. That’s digital printing and decorative gravure printing systems, inspection systems, the latest generation of spray coating machines, robotics systems, and much more besides. Here, too, digitization and automation are the key to achieving greater flexibility while keeping costs to a minimum. The full range of the latest surface technologies, applications, innovations and solutions will be on display in halls 16 and 17.

“Access to Resources and Technology” at the Wood Industry Summit
Providers of technology for the forestry and/or primary wood processing industry, in particular, will have an unrivalled opportunity to tap into new growth markets at next year’s Wood Industry Summit, which is themed “Access to Resources and Technology”. Complete with forum, lounge and exhibition area, the summit is all about international communication and technology transfer. Among much else, its focus will be on ways of optimizing the entire forest-wood-logistics value chain – from standing trees through to final processing in the factory – as well as on protecting forests from biotic and abiotic damage, and on climate and environmentally friendly harvesting processes and the future of the forest and wood industry. Digital technologies, such as drone-based data capture systems, mobile applications, laser scanners and highly sophisticated IT programs, now span the entire forestry value chain, from forest information and integrated harvesting systems right through to modern forest management systems. And in each case, the focus is squarely on efficiency and productivity. Digitization will therefore be a prominent theme at the discussion forms and throughout the exhibits at LIGNA 2019.

Main display categories
The last LIGNA featured a restructured thematic layout comprising seven main display categories. The new layout was well received by both exhibitors and visitors and will be continued in 2019:
– Tools and Machinery for Custom and Mass Production in halls 11 to 15 and 27
– Surface Technology in halls 16 and 17
– Wood Based Panel Production in Hall 26
– Sawmill Technology in Hall 25
– Energy from Wood in halls 25 and 26, and in Pavilions 32, 33 and 35 on the open-air site
– Machine Components and Automation Technology in halls 15 and 16
– Forestry Technology on the open-air site and in Pavilions 32, 33 and 35