GERMANY – LIGNA 2017 attracted a total of 93,000 visitors, including some 42,000 attendees from outside Germany who had come to Hannover from more than 100 different countries. The show’s increasingly international turnout was reflected in the figures for virtually every corner of the globe, and particularly for Asia, North America and Europe. 

“These impressive figures confirm that international decision-makers have come to place their trust in LIGNA as the only event that can give them a full grasp of the latest wood processing and woodworking trends and developments.” said Dr. Andreas Gruchow, the Deutsche Messe Managing Board member in charge of LIGNA. The top ten visitor nations after Germany were France, Austria, the United States, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, China, Poland, Italy and Russia.

“LIGNA 2017 will go down as a milestone in the digitalization of the wood industry,” said Dr. Andreas Gruchow, at the end-of-show press conference in Hannover. “Industry 4.0 concepts for the wood industry were the dominant theme at this year’s LIGNA, with major emphasis placed on digitalization, integration and automation. The exhibitors covered everything from sophisticated approaches to plant integration right on down to entry-level systems for the skilled trades, thus offering the right technology for any scale of operation.”

LIGNA 2017 featured a new site layout and an array of display categories chosen to reflect the increasing technology convergence between the skilled trades and industry. “The new layout has proven to be a great success. Our customers have found it very easy to navigate”, remarked Wolfgang Pöschl, Chairman of the Woodworking Machinery division of Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, VDMA, and Chairman of the Management Board of Michael Weinig AG. “Digitalization and integrated production are the new keys to success for our customers. There is huge demand across the board, resulting in full order books.”

LIGNA’s new approach is contributing to stable growth throughout the industry. More than 1,500 exhibitors, including 900 from abroad, were on hand to showcase innovative plant, machinery, tools and solutions on some 129,000 square meters (1,388,544 sq. ft.) of net space. The next LIGNA will be staged from 27 to 31 May 2019.