LIGNA+ 2007 — World’s biggest tradeshow for the woodworking industry fills the order books

“Makers of woodworking machinery came to Hannover with great expectations, and even those were surpassed by wide margin,” reported Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association within VDMA, as he summed up the excellent mood at this year’s LIGNA+.

With the economy quickly picking up steam and construction booming in many regions, wood and wood-based products are in great demand. Despite the rising cost of raw timber, purchasing new machinery, equipment and tools for woodworking and processing continues to be a top priority for many companies.
“The echo we are getting from all of the sectors represented at LIGNA+ 2007 is very positive indeed” commented Dirr, whose words mirror the current state of the industry. Not only is demand up in Germany, both from the skilled trades and industry, but the order books are also filling due to favorable developments on foreign markets, particularly in Eastern Europe. Interest in state-of-the-art technology is also picking up in Southeast Asia and South America.

Optimal use of wood
With wood becoming ever more popular as a source of energy, LIGNA+ made it more than apparent that interest in high-efficiency utilization of available resources is sharply increasing. In the production of sawn timber, the name of the game is boosting the efficiency of equipment while also maximizing yield. And when it comes to timber processing, new machinery can also make all the difference for users.
In the wood-based products sector, the trend is towards thinner panels. These are now being produced at feed rates that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Lightweight panels were definitely a mega-trend at this year’s LIGNA+, and a number of next-generation machines for producing and processing them were on show in market-ready designs. With the advent of new joining and hardware systems, lightweight panels have now come of age as a highly versatile alternative.

Positive climate in furniture industry
The furniture industry picked up a lot of momentum at this year’s LIGNA+. The trend towards customizable, small-series production continues unabated, and exhibitors unveiled a corresponding array of CNC machine centers for the processing of furniture parts. The exhibits ranged from inexpensive entry-level models to fully automated, high-performance units capable of outputting finished parts in a number of different variants.
The trend towards individualization is also being reflected in new solutions for the continuous processing sector, including streamlined setup procedures and faster retooling systems. As a means of improving efficiency, linear drives are playing an increasingly major role in this segment.
In the surface treatment sector, high-gloss surfaces requiring only a minimum of paint are a real hit. The necessary highly polished surfaces call for reliable finishing methods, even at high throughput rates.
The laminating sector is not only turning out excellent surface qualities today, but also at lower cost.
Major market stimuli are coming from outside Germany: Customers from Eastern European were out in force at LIGNA+ 2007 and had a correspondingly favorable impact on business done at the show, while a pleasing upswing in demand from within Germany was also registered. However, the overall appeal of LIGNA+ for buyers from every corner of the world remains one of its key strong points. Many exhibitors from the furniture industry reported a tangible increase in demand.

The “Handwerk, Holz & mehr” showcase
The “Handwerk, Holz und mehr” (Wood Crafts) section of the show once again hit the mark as a magnet for the skilled woodworking trades. Exhibitors from all categories of this show-within-a-show expressed their satisfaction with the visitor turnout. Their customers came primarily from Germany and other EU nations, but increasingly also from Russia and Turkey.
Interest in state-of-the-art technologies and production methods is rising sharply. In Germany, the skilled trades are putting aside their reluctance to invest. For hand-operated machines, the trend towards greater performance continues — even as machines are become more lightweight. Today’s standard machines can now be made more efficient through the deployment of techniques that were formerly reserved for industrial machines — including positioning control and retooling systems outfitted with hollow-shaft, conical connecting elements.

Woodworking machine tools
Germany’s leading manufacturers of woodworking tools were likewise highly satisfied with the run of the event and are anticipating brisk post-show business.
Demand here was strongest for tool systems for NC processing as well as tool solutions for specific applications such as lightweight panel processing.
Increasingly important fields in this sector include segment engineering services and leasing or operator models for tool systems.

“Pro Original”
LIGNA+ also put a major spotlight on VDMA’s “Pro Original” campaign against product piracy, which impressed visiting professionals with the importance of using original machinery, components and spare parts. “Only by using OEM parts can customers fully leverage a manufacturer’s ingenuity, and only in this way are they sure of maintaining their own competitive edge and safeguarding themselves against material failure or critical breakdowns. While the lower price tag for copied parts might appear more attractive at first, sooner or later the customer ends up having to pay a lot more than he bargained for,” warned Dirr.
In like manner, Deutsche Messe is also diligent about protecting the industrial property rights of rightful exhibitors. This topic figured prominently at LIGNA+, where illegal copies of established machines and tools were once again discovered to be on display. In two particularly flagrant cases, the offending exhibitors were compelled to remove the unlawful exhibits from their stands.