In Cologne every two years a great gathering of the international roofing and timber sector takes place in the form of DACH+HOLZ.

It is billed as the world’s largest trade fair for roofing and timber, with exhibitors including sawmillers, engineered wood companies, wood-based panel manufacturers and distributors, machinery, software, construction systems and other equipment.

This year the February 20-23 show lists 570 exhibitors, around a fifth of whom are international. Some 49,380 visitors attended the 2016 event.

Roofers, carpenters, construction companies and product suppliers rub shoulders at the Messe München, with the event supported by industry umbrella associations, the Central Association of the German Roofing Trade and the Association of German Master Carpenters.

Digitalisation will be discussd at the DACH+HOLZ Forum, where experts will give several talks on current and future trends. Other focuses are the housing industry, fire protection and roof greening. There will also be a separate presentation area with a living workshop, while a “Protect, don’t fall” campaign will cover occupational safety.

Interactive Tour

“Visitors can find out information on important new legal regulations, while associations will demonstrate solutions to these,” said Robert Schuster, project manager of the trade fair.

In co-operation with the trade association and the umbrella organisations, a special exhibition including a tour will also be on display in Hall 9, where trade visitors will be able to try out new systems for themselves.

“Construction and carpentry are changing,” said Peter Aicher, chairman of Holzbau Deutschland – the Association of German Master Carpenters in the Central Association of the German Construction Industry.

“Urban redensification is becoming a subject of increasing importance: roof extensions and the addition of new storeys.

“Fire safety regulations are currently aligned with these requirements and the state of technology. DACH+HOLZ International presents state-of-the-art technology. Another important theme will be safety, to ensure that even fewer accidents will occur in future.”

Hall 7 will feature most of the exhibitors in the fields of timber, prefabricated wood building and wood processing machines.

Sawmillers present include Holzwerke Ladenburger, which has five production sites in Germany with an annual capacity of 800,000m3 and has made a name for itself internationally through its innovative ideas in the field of construction timber.

Vente-Holz and Klenk Holz are also present while in engineered timber there is Hüttemann, KLH, Poppensieker & Derix, Pollmeier (exhibiting its BauBuche beech LVL product) Steico, Lignatur AG, FH Finnholz and MHM (Massiv-Holz-Mauer).

Timber Construction Europe will also be present – it is the European roof organisation uniting national associations representing small and medium-sized businesses in timber construction. It has 22,000 member companies in Italy, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Wood-based panels manufacturers/ distributors exhibiting include Sonae Arauco Deutschland AG, showing its Agepan system for roof, floor and wall, while Egger, Norbord, Swiss Krono Group and Fundermax are also lining up.

Meanwhile, German sawmiller and panel products manufacturer Elka-Holzwerke GmbH has done further work with acoustic and fire protection material specialist Lahnau Akustik, to develop its VarianteX product. Now it has succeeded in getting it certified for fire protection class B1 – VarianteX B1 esb Silent Inside.

Machinery producers demonstrating technology will include SCM Group, Weinmann, Biesse, Homag and Hundegger, while construction software specialists attending will be Sema and hsbcad. Palfinger truck-mounted forklifts and Combilift will be demonstrating their technology.

Exhibitors for wood insulation boards include Homatherm, Pavatex, Inthermo, Best Wood Schneider GmbH, Gutex and Isover, while Spax, Fischer, Simpson Strong- Tie and Bea Fastening Systems will show their connection technology and fastening products.

Megawood wood-plastic composite decking (produced by Novo-Tech Trading) and Moso bamboo products for decking, laminated beams and cladding are other interesting products on display.