GERMANY – The five-day Ligna 2019 closed on an impressive note. The world’s leading trade fair for woodworking and wood processing plant, machinery and tools gave a considerable boost to the wood industry, paving the way for future investment.

Smart, future proof solutions were at the top of the agenda, and Ligna 2019 made it amply clear that technology users are now “getting smart” with regard to digitization and automation. Major emphasis was placed on integrated solutions enabling companies of all sizes – from niche woodworking firms to large-scale manufacturers – to meet current market demands and prepare for future challenges. And digitization featured prominently for the primary wood industry, as well.

“Ligna has clearly underscored its reputation as the global woodworking and wood processing industry’s definitive event, and the place of choice for unveiling the latest innovations,” remarked Deutsche Messe Managing Board member Dr. Andreas Gruchow. “A total of 1,500 exhibitors from 50 nations presented their impressive solutions for the future, making innovations tangible and easy to grasp for users from every sector of the industry, on a scale unrivalled throughout the world. By focusing on digitization, automation, robotics and revolutionary surface technology applications, Ligna’s exhibitors played a major role in driving technological advancement. Technologies considered to be visionary at the previous Ligna have now become reality,” he added.

Over 50 percent of Ligna visitors rated the importance of Industry 4.0 as being high to very high. Some 40 percent of them were either upgrading their existing machinery or considering the purchase of new machines to reap the benefits of Industry 4.0 technology.

At Ligna they met up with manufacturers of wood processing machinery for solid and engineered wood whose offer concentrated on automation and integrated systems, especially on modular technologies as a gateway to digitization. The approach here is one of end-to-end digitization – with concepts spanning everything from planning and design to production and monitoring – as opposed to island solutions. The other notable feature of these new digitization technologies is that they are as easy and intuitive to use as smartphones.

“Ligna 2019 demonstrated that we have taken a big leap forward in the direction of digital wood processing, and that interest in advanced technology is running high throughout the world,” commented Pekka Paasivaara, President of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association, CEO of Homag Group AG and member of the Board of Management of Dürr AG. “It is truly amazing to meet up with so many customers from around the world interesting in making specific capital investments. The new solutions on display are relevant to small firms and large industrial processors, alike. This gives us all good cause for optimism.”