When 60 journalists (including from TTJ) were flown into Hannover by exhibition organiser Deutsche Messe in February, it was the first time in a pandemic-impacted four years that such a gathering had been called to hear about an upcoming Ligna show.
Ligna, of course, is the world’s leading woodworking technology show and really a Mecca for all things wood whether it is sawmilling or the production of wood-based panels, solid timber products, structural timber systems or furniture. This year it takes place on May 15-19.
“Two years ago it was not really clear that trade shows were able to survive,” said Dr Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe.
“But we realised that the feeling of trade shows with physical people cannot be replaced with Zoom meetings. Get out of your home office, Zoom meeting and come to Ligna!” he implored.
“We are positive to do these trade shows again. All the markets leaders are here with us and they trust in Ligna. The global woodworking community is coming back together.”
He revealed that exhibitor numbers were currently (in February) at the level of prepandemic shows, with 1,118 exhibitors, some 745 of which were from outside Germany.
That equates to an exhibition space of 107,233m2.
The high proportion of international visitors, Dr Köckler added, set Ligna apart in exhibition terms.
If you haven’t been to the biennial Ligna, it is like a sprawling metropolis, encompassing some 10 halls at the Hannover Messe, as well as large outside spaces for timber handling vehicles and forestry equipment.
Exhibitors will show how far the networking of machines, tools, components and materials has already gone and will present innovations in the fields of robotics, automation and software.
The buzzwords Smart or Connected Factory, Industry 4.0 or Internet of Things and IoT platforms will continue to become tangible at Ligna with concrete examples.
“Digitalisation is not a negative challenge, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” said Dr Köckler.
As well as technology exhibitors, Ligna has a number of focus points including the Ligna Stage in Hall 12 which will see key presentations and discussions, including themes of prefabricated building processes, woodworking transformation and green material processing.
The Ligna FutureSquare will include a section called Future Business World allowing business start-ups to present themselves onsite, aimed at exhibitors and visitors of Ligna alike.
The Ligna Campus will focus on research and development, training and education, featuring technical colleges and universities presenting their programmes here.
For instance, The Rottenburg University of Applied Sciences will examine how hardwood can be used in an innovative way, showing examples of wood modification use and development of hardwood based cross-laminated timber, substitution of wood preservatives for exterior use and replacing of tropical hardwoods by using domestic hardwoods such as beech, birch or maple wood in musical instrument making.
Digital elements of Ligna 2023 will include an App, business ‘dating’, digital contacts and guided tours.
“There is no reason why Ligna will not be fantastic this year, we have the exhibitors and the visitors,” concluded Dr Köchler.
WOODWORKING MACHINERY BUSINESS RESILIENT
Markus Hüllmann, VDMA Woodworking Machinery chairman, provided some interesting statistics on Germany’s woodworking technology industry.
He said the sector had record demand until Q2, 2022 but was then impacted by shortages in the supply chain amid geopolitical disruptions, creating uncertainty. These difficulties persisted today, extending lead times for machinery deliveries, raising prices and making scheduling projects challenging.
“However, the market has still been strong and we have managed these shortages very well,” he said.
Incredibly, sales of German woodworking machinery reached their highest-ever level in 2022 with a value of €3.5bn, up €100m on 2021. This year it is expected to slip back again slightly but machinery makers surveyed by VDMA in December 2022 are still generally “cautiously optimistic”.
The top three export markets for German machinery in 2022 were the US, China and France. Italy and the UK both registered a high increase in their woodworking machinery imports from Germany.
Mr Hüllmann quoted the managing director of the IMF in his presentation: “It is less bad than we felt a couple of months ago. But less bad does not quite yet mean good.”
Another VDMA member survey revealed that digitalisation and automation were two of the biggest opportunities for woodworking machinery. “The opportunities outweigh the risks,” he said.
TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
Another key note speaker at the preview was Professor Achim Menges of the University of Stuttgart who shared the work of a cluster of excellence looking into timber in construction.
This area is being billed by Ligna organisers as a key theme for the industry.
Using AI, the research teams developed models of longspan high performance timber structures.
An example is its design of the Buga Wood Pavilion, a 500m2 experimental timber shell structure that served as an open event space with a multi-purpose stage at the Bundesgartenschau 2019 in Heilbronn. It features 30m spans.
The structure features 376 load adapted hollow structural elements and 17,000 finger-joints, made possible by robotic manufacturing to a tolerance of 0.35mm. This enabled the elimination of scaffolding and formwork in site erection.
The design-to-build process took just 13 months and the structure was able to be later disassembled and moved to another location. Such detail would have been impossible without the use of computer design and latest woodworking technology.
Prof Menges said a next step would be to use robotic site assembly.
Further research examined 350 existing timber buildings and found about 99% of them were based on regular and very rigid traditional grids – which Prof Menges argues is a limiting factor. As a result the research teams developed a prototype multi-storey timber building system, fabricated in a prefabricated element test factory using robots. They were able to design an adaptive building system with variable column placement and 11m-long clear spanning timber floor slabs 42cm in depth. Such features, he added, were a positive disruptive influence in the construction industry.
EXHIBITORS
Some of the big machinery names sharing their Ligna plans at the preview included Weinig, SCM Group, Homag, Biesse, Hubtex, Cefla and Fagus-GreCon.
Fire protection and measuring technology specialist Fagus-GreCon will present many innovations at Ligna.
The company said the exhibition’s focus on current industry topics such as digital transformation, increasing efficiency demands and the resource-conserving use of wood as a raw material, showed why Ligna is probably the most important trend barometer for the entire wood-based materials industry.
“We have a lot of new products on offer and are looking forward to presenting them to the trade public,” said Uwe Kahmann, managing director of Fagus-GreCon.
“Extensive investments have been made in product developments and our services. This is now paying off for our customers.”
Its measurement technology highlights include further development of the inline thickness measurement GreCon THICKNESSCONTROL, which enables measurements of almost the entire panel, even at high production speeds.
The GreCon GASANALYSER MC determines the formaldehyde emission of wood-based materials, with considerably shortened testing times, improved operability and noticeably extended calibration intervals.
In fire prevention, Fagus-GreCon has continued the digitalisation of its product portfolio. Following the intelligent detection technology (IDT) at the last Ligna, it now presents a maintenance-optimised extinguishing system with intelligent extinguishment technology (IET).
Solid wood machining brand Weinig will present solutions to help manufacturers with digital transformation and more volatile economic conditions – many companies are forced to compensate for skills shortages, save materials and produce faster and more flexibly in order to remain competitive.
The Weinig Group, which includes Holz- Her, will be presenting over 50 exhibits on around 5,000m2 in Hall 27.
At Ligna, its highlights will include stateof- the-art CLT production for the manufacture of wall elements for timber construction, while in planning/profiling the new Hydromat will be launched.
The latter features a feed speed of 400m/ min and WMC machine control, with features such as wood saving system to optimise chip removal and save material during preplaning. On the other hand, the machine can be flexibly equipped for the production of profiled goods.
Large systems on display will include an optimising cross-cut line with an OptiCut 450 Quantum cross-cut saw, connected to a finger-jointing line and robot stacking, as well as a ProfiPress C 2500 HF gluing press for the production of wooden panels.
SCM is preparing for Ligna consolidated by a double figure growth in turnover in 2022 to €850m.
In an exhibition area covering 3,000m2 between Hall 13 and Hall 16 (the latter being the Superfici finishing technology business), visitors to Ligna will have an opportunity to discover SCM’s technology for machining panels, solid wood, timber construction and artisan woodworking.
SCM has approached innovation with a common goal: to make processes more efficient, keep down costs, consumption and waste and simplify their management.
For the timber construction industry, SCM will be presenting oikos xs, the new CNC machining centre designed to meet the needs of new applications and markets.
Features include maximum implementation speed, precision and reduced footprint for companies involved in the production of prefabricated walls, trusses and roofs.
Also making its début at Ligna is the accord 500 CNC machining centre to produce doors, staircases and windows in solid wood.
Timber handling specialist Hubtex was also at the Ligna Preview, promoting its range of vehicles.
Its highlight for the Ligna trade fair 2023 is the new generation of the electric multidirectional counterbalance truck FluX for load capacities of up to 3 tonnes.
Visitors can experience the new FluX at its stand. The forklift is predominantly designed for use as a front loader.
Thanks to the multi-directional steering it can also be used as a sideloader for the transport of long-load goods.
A unique feature is the 360° HX steering in the compact three-wheel running gear that ensures smooth changes in direction from longitudinal to transverse travel.
Irish handling specialist Combilift has been busy since the last Ligna introducing new models, finessing technology and expanding its global markets. Ligna 2023 also coincides with the company’s 25th anniversary.
The company’s innovations and new product launches will be the main focus but Combilift also likes to entertain with “dancing” trucks and Irish music.
Around 16 exhibits will demonstrate Combilift’s solutions in the timber, joinery and furniture sectors, ranging from small pedestrian 1,000kg capacity stackers to straddle carriers and mobile gantries, which can lift loads of 100,000kg and over.
An unveiling of a new model will take place in Hannover, with Combilift hinting it will be an emission-free, quiet machine that enables customers to reduce carbon footprint.
The Aisle Master articulated truck with its narrow aisle capability, and the Combi-WR4, a multi-directional pedestrian reach stacker are expected to be popular.
“2023 is a very special year for us,” said Combilift MD Martin McVicar, “and Ligna has always been an important event so it is a perfect framework for celebrating 25 years in business and the launch of numerous new models.”
All in all, Ligna is bound to be a popular show and a magnet for innovation. As one of the Ligna mottos reads – “People, Technology, Innovations…”
