German executives representing the world’s largest woodworking machinery show Ligna dropped into London last week to spread the message that this year’s event is shaping up to provide a strong hub for business.

Alexander Wurst, senior vice-president of international trade fairs at Deutsche Messe, told TTJ that trade fairs already held this year such as Bau, Domotex and furniture fair IMA, had all performed strongly, demonstrating continuing recovery in markets.

And Dominik Wolfschütz, of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers Association (VDMA), said stronger financial results from leading woodworking machinery manufacturers – several have reported a 30-40% improvement in turnover for 2010 – showed the industry was in better health.

Mr Wolfschütz said many of the larger manufacturers were taking increased stand sizes for Ligna 2011, though the weaker trading performance of many smaller firms meant that the overall size of the show would be slightly down on 2009 (130,152m²) at about 115,000m². About 1,700 exhibitors are expected (2009: 1,758).

“But the important thing is the increases we expect in the number of visitors,” added Mr Wurst. “We expect about 80,000 visitors.”

This would be a few thousand up on 2009 but still down from the pre-recession average of just over 100,000.

Mr Wurst said changing trends, with companies sending just one or two top level managers to exhibitions, rather than a large group, was also better for business.

Exports of all stationary woodworking machines to the UK halved in 2009 to €109m, of which 34% of the total came from Germany. Preliminary 2010 figures show German exports bounced back by 26% to €39m in 2010.

The worldwide wood machinery market grew by an estimated 5% in 2010 (2009: -37.7%).

Ligna will again have an overarching theme of resource efficiency, showcasing the ability of machinery to increase yield and avoid waste in a world where the price and availability of wood raw material is increasingly volatile.

Three main focus areas at Ligna 2011 will be lightweight construction, bioenergy from wood, and surface technologies.

Machinery manufacturers and timber/chemical companies have teamed up on a joint stand to promote lightweight construction wood-based panels. Participants include Ima, Rehau, Dieffenbacher, BASF and Egger, showing innovative production and lightweight construction concepts.

An international evening reception “Sawmiller meets supplier” event will also take place so sawmillers can network with machinery companies.

“I think Ligna 2011 will be a good place for boosting business,” added Mr Wurst. “The fact that it is the International Year of the Forests could mean the show will attract more attention in the media.”

TTJ will be publishing a full show preview on May 14. For more information on Ligna click here