When it comes to solid wood and wood based panels production technology and equipment Hanover and Milan are two of the prime exhibition centres.
With Ligna taking place last year, the other large European biennial exhibition – Xylexpo – is readying itself to be centre stage for its 2018 edition on May 8-12 at the Rho fairgrounds, Milan.
With some return air tickets from London to Milan available for as little as £100, the show represents a great opportunity for UK timber and panel product processors to see a lot of machinery and tooling in one place.
TTJ was at the offi cial Xylexpo press preview at Milan’s Palazzo dei Giiureconsulti earlier this year to hear about the plans for the show and how the woodworking technology market is shaping up. With this year being Xylexpo’s 50th anniversary, organiser Acimall was keen to make a good impression and the good news reported is that the worldwide economic climate for woodworking technology is generally positive and increased exhibition space has been booked for Xylexpo 2018.
The last show in 2016 attracted 441 exhibitors covering 29,189m2, with 17,145 unique visitors – 14.2% more than in 2014, while a 29.1% increase in international visitors was recorded. Of those international visitors, 71% were from Europe; 20% from Asia/Oceania; 6% from America; and 3% from Africa.
Acimall president Lorenzo Primultini told the press that by January 16 around 300 companies had confi rmed bookings for a total net display surface area of 30,000m2 – already in excess of 2016’s final result.
This early increase in exhibitor space booking meant a fourth show hall was added to Xylexpo. Visitor numbers are also expected to achieve a “double-digit” growth this year.
Mr Primultini said the stabilisation and growth of Xylexpo following the financial crisis years showed the exhibition was experiencing a “second youth”.
“We are very happy about the next Xylexpo, as figures are positive and significant,” he said.
Acimall, he said, had learned the lessons from the “less brilliant” 2012 show and embarked on an extensive campaign to bring more international players to Milan and attract back several Italian industry market leaders. “In 2016, with all global leaders attending, things went very well on both sides, with excellent results for the number and quality of exhibitors and visitors.
“We are quite optimistic [for the 2018 edition], as we believe that this virtuous circle will keep generating positive effects.”
Halls 1 and 3 will host companies specialising in the production of panel processing machinery and tools, surface finishing and the related products, hardware, semi-finished materials and supplies. Halls 2 and 4 will be dedicated to panel and solid wood processing machinery and tools, primary operation equipment and tools, semi-finished materials and complementary accessories.
The largest individual business area for customers is panels-related furniture production, comprising 22.3% of all visitors, followed by woodworking machine/tools trading at 19.6%, then furniture (solid wood based) at 18.7% and joinery on 17.5%. Big players are being split so they are in different halls. Biesse Group and Barberan will be in Hall 1, SCM Group in Hall 2, Homag and Cefla in Hall 3 and IMA/ Schelling and Weinig in Hall 4.
For sawmilling/solid wood product manufacture there are also the likes of Primultini, Stromab, Salvador, Hans Hundegger and Storti, while in tooling and blade sharpening there is Vollmer.
In terms of primary and downstream panel-producing technology other companies include Costa Levigatrici, SpA, Globus, IMA Schelling Group, Tocchio International, Pal, Kleiberit, Siempelkamp, Pagnoni, Imal, Giardina, Biele, Deurotech, Elmag, Hymmen, Italpresse, Vits and Wandres.
POSITIVE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
“We are going through a macro-economic time that’s positive,” said Luigi De Vito, vice-president of Eumabois (the European Federation of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers).
He referenced a predicted 3% growth in global GDP in 2018, while EU GDP growth is expected to be over 2%. Italy’s own GDP growth rate could be around 1.2%.
“Xylexpo is becoming increasingly important to international manufacturers of machines,” he said. “We are seeing increased stand space being booked by these companies.”
Mr De Vito also said 2017 had been the year of Industry 4.0, with this trend set to continue. Industry 4.0 is billed as the next industrial revolution, with enhanced data transfer between machines to improve efficiency and speed up the period between product design and production.
“This does not mean computerisation but generation of added value,” he said. Acimall director Dario Corbetta explained that Xylexpo was considered a strategic show by the Italian government.
“If you are interested in machines, you have to come to Milan; you have no choice.” He said Italy may have had a very bad crisis in 2008-09 and fared worse than many other European countries but it was “now back”. “The economic climate is more favourable,” said.
Mr Corbetta explained that exports of woodworking machinery worldwide were up to €8.16bn in 2016, actually greater than the €7.98bn recorded in 2007 before the global financial crisis.
European production of woodworking machinery and tools was £6.71bn in 2016, with Germany having the leading position (in terms of turnover share) at 43%, compared to Italy’s 31%.
Preliminary figures for 2017 show that Italian woodworking machinery production increased by 11.6% in 2017 to €2.29bn, again higher than the 2007 level pre-financial crisis. Exports grew by 71% to €1.6bn and apparent consumption was up an amazing 20.3% to €894m. This last figure is predicted to increase to €983m in 2018.
“This is a big boost and at a level not seen for many years,” said Mr Corbetta.
Italy’s largest export market – the US – grew by 4.5% in 2017 to €165.5m. Poland, China and Russia saw the biggest growth rates, with Poland up 22.6% to €102.4m, China up 31.3% to €88.5m and Russia up 38.7% to €48m.
Italy’s exports to the UK were worth €61.1m, having suffered a 40% reverse last year.
The wood and furniture industry in Italy has a turnover of €30bn, with 40,000 companies and 360,000 people working in it. The biggest Italian region for the sector is Lombardy and Milan is it capital. “So Milan means we are at the centre of the industry,” said Mr Corbetta.
Italy is the world’s third largest furniture industry exporter at €5bn, after China (€21.3bn) and Vietnam (€5.4bn). The Italian government is doing its bit to help its manufacturers by providing tax incentives for investing in leading-edge technologies.
For instance, woodworking and panel producing companies wanting to invest in the latest Industry 4.0 technology could receive a 50% tax credit.
So for a €1m investment in an advanced manufacturing solution, the amortisable value is 250% of the purchase value – five years’ tax reduction equal to €360,000.
“This has been extended [by the government] until the end of 2018, which means Xylexpo will take place right in the middle of a very favourable season for investments, a situation that all exhibitors in Milan will certainly leverage,” said Mr Corbetta.
DIGITAL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
Preview keynote speaker – architect Federico Rossi – encouraged the industry to think digital and work towards a closer relationship between design and production.
Mr Rossi, academic leader for digital architecture robotics and senior architecture lecturer at South Bank University, London, explained digital design workflow and how to incorporate design into the production process.
The university’s Digital Architecture Robotics Lab (DARLab) uses sophisticated industrial technology to perform architectural fabrication research.
It is one of the few academic institutions around the world using robotic automation to perform both subtractive and additive manufacturing processes.
“Robotic fabrication will change the way we build and design buildings,” said Mr Rossi. Research interest lies in combining data and material, and the resulting implications this has for architectural design. Direct implementation of material and production logic into the design process, he said, creates a unique form of architectural expression and a new aesthetic.
The main area of research focuses on additive digital fabrication techniques used for building standardised architectural components. The objective is to develop integration between new materials, and new tools to develop innovative construction fabrication processes.
“Many architects in London now have a team focused on developing data for projects,” said Mr Rossi.
He said designers could create problems for producers, so argued for letting designers be part of the process.
Mr Rossi said many UK academic institutions operated as commercial corporations with strong links to industry. “This is one of the reasons why I am in the UK because they allow me to do what I want to do. In Italy, the university system is restrictive and not as flexible as the UK.”
Mr Rossi also suggested Industry 4.0 would lead to more employment, although in the preview debating time Mr Primultini maintained that some jobs would be lost progressively as a result of Industry 4.0. Italian woodworking technology giant Biesse is one of the exhibitors majoring on Industry 4.0.
On its 3,500m2 display space exhibiting 30 functioning machines, the company is inviting customers to “live the experience and be part of the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution”.
INNOVATION AWARD
Many of the Xylexpo exhibitors will be descending on “The Night of Xylexpo”, a gala evening on the second exhibition day (May 9). This feature, which has the XIA–Xylexpo Innovation Awards as its backdrop, has grown and turned into a major networking event.
Tools is a new category being added the Awards for 2018.
To represent the entire spectrum of solutions exhibited at Xylexpo 2018, the other awards categories will be Primary Processing and Solid Wood Processing, Panel Processing and Coating/Finishing.
