"Normally we expect a bit of a lull in orders pre-Ligna, but the last two weeks have seen significant machine sales to Australia, the UK and Belgium and a large order from a client in South Australia to upgrade the lube systems on a total of 12 resaws," said Stenner managing director Syd Mather.
Despite EU economy concerns, Mr Mather said signs of US timber industry recovery and strong enquiries from Russia, Malaysia and the Middle East, where Stenner is not so well known, was encouraging.
Stenner staff will also be able to use Ligna to discuss equipment from partners Heinola, Paul and Primultini (which Stenner markets in the UK and Ireland).
Meanwhile, Wood IQ GmbH will use Ligna to announce itself on the international market. Ex-Weinig head of marketing Peter Lohmeyer will show five of his Lohmeyer branded machines, with the BAZ 825 IQ vertical CNC machining centre for cabinet production being the highlight.
Other machines include a sliding table saw FKS350 IQ, which costs less than £10,000, a horizontal panel saw DBS525 IQ and the KAM 750 IQ edgebander.
Homag Group will exhibit in two halls covering 6,500m2 of space, with highlights including the Weeke ABH100 drilling and trimming machine, zero joint technology with Brandt airTec and a focus on structural elements – a complete house made from Homag machine processed elements: windows, doors, staircases, parquet flooring and the timber frame structure.
SCM’s three stands covering more than 2,600m2 have been designed in collaboration with designers BLOOMLAB. They have been working to create the "egg" symbolising the "birth" of six-axis machining centres. SCM’s displays feature a "housing" division featuring new versions of the Accord work centre for window frame and general solid wood machining, as well as the Dogma angular work centre and Superset moulder. SCM will also present work cells, including a wood window/solid wood cell which can perform highly-automated batch production and bespoke work.
Weinig will present new innovations in the Powermat moulder range, including a new MemoryPlus 2 entry-level control system, a new pointed-tooth roller for optimised feeding and a chamfering unit for production of chamfers with curves and radii.
New Holz-Her machines include the CUT 6220 panel cutting pressure beam saw, the PRO-MASTER 7125 CNC five-axis machining centre and edgebanding innovations which it says set new standards in glue application and PUR handling.
German kilning technology supplier Brunner Hildebrand will highlight its GreenKilns system, designed make kilning operations more effective and fuel efficient. GreenKilns feature thermal coupling, with a heat exchanger situated inside the kiln rather than mounted on the roof, helping to reduce lost heat energy by 50%.
Brunner-Hildebrand also hopes to revive interest in continuous dry kilns for softwood and hardwood drying. Sales director Ingo Wallocha told TTJ that sawmill market consolidation was leading to larger mills which were suited to continuous dry kins. Diamonds are at the centre of Vollmer’s stand in recognition of polycrystalline diamond tools’ increasing importance in the timber and furniture processing sectors.
Vollmer’s PCD tool sharpening technology includes solutions to automatically measure, grind and polish PCD cutters in one single pass. Vollmer erosion machines have CNCcontrolled axes and integrated software control, enabling large production runs.
Lach Diamant will present new diamond jointing cutters "dreboflash" to produce "laser edges" – a pre-processing edge tool that preceeds the laser edgebanding process. Cutters have special cutting geometry and severe shear angles, with a "microfinish" at the tool flanks of the cutting edges.
Spark detection and measurement specialist GreCon will unveil the new DMR 6000 and DML 6000 generation thickness measurement systems, a high-precision weighing scale HPS 5000 and new SUPERSCANners for surface inspection and particle recognition of wood-based panels. In fire and explosion prevention, GreCon will showcase the SATELLITE remote online service tool.
Shredding and briquetting technology is increasingly popular and Weima will unveil its new HD (high density) briquette press series. It enables customers to briquette difficult materials such as MDF dust or wood chips, due to an innovative press mechanism. The Weima TH 1500 high throughput briquette press – nine briquettes per minute – will also be demonstrated along with the WL series shredders.
