Deutsche Messe and the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers (VDMA) spelled out the attraction at a London press conference, in which they said “all the main players” in woodworking technology would be present at the May 11-15 exhibition in Hanover.
Among the mega-trends being looked at include the fast-moving areas of industrial surface finishing and the further integration of machinery and data (such as the move towards Industrie 4.0 production).
Another mega-trend of the moment is timber product processors’ growing requirement to machine other material -composites, plastics and light alloys. “The number of requests for mixed materials processing is immense,” said Ingo Bette, VDMA marketing manager.
A large variety of machinery for timber construction is also a feature of this year’s event.
One special exhibit will be a 100m-long panel production line, processing raw board into components for the office furniture/kitchen manufacturing sector. IMA and Homag are combining to bring this exhibit, capable of producing 1,000 parts per shift.
Of the 90,000 visitors to Ligna more than a third of visitors come from outside Germany and the average visit time is 2.6 days. The UK is the 8th biggest export market for German woodworking machinery and UK timber sector investment in technology has been growing on the back of economic growth.
“Ligna is the most international event when it comes to visitors,” said Deutsche Mess’s Ligna director Christian Pfeiffer. “We see more opportunities than risks at the moment. We expect a strong Ligna and strong demand despite risks.
“What makes Ligna so special is the fact that anyone can see any size or range of machine, from entry-level to the highest level of automated machine.”