GERMANY – The 2017 edition of the Ligna trade show in Hanover was extremly satisfying for Biesse. Over the 5-day trade show 4500 visitors from all around the world visited the Biesse stand, generating 45 million euros worth of incoming orders, 35% of which are 4.0 lines. Never before had the company achieved such figures at any trade show.

GERMANY – Homag Group, the world’s leading solution provider of plants and machinery for the woodworking industry and for cabinet makers, has won a major contract in China. The furniture maker Oppein Home Group Inc has ordered 307 stand-alone machines with an order valued totaling over EUR 30 million. 

THAILAND – S. Kijchai Enterprise PCL in Rayong—approximately 200 km southeast of Bangkok— is expanding its production capacity and adding THDF boards to its product portfolio. The Thai company has produced MDF boards from a Dieffenbacher plant for the past five years.

GERMANY – In the first quarter of 2017, the Homag Group’s order intake climbed 31 percent to EUR 401 million (1Q-2016: EUR 306 million) and sales revenue increased 14 percent to EUR 296 million (1Q-2016: EUR 260 million). 

ITALY – In the first three months of 2017 Biesse Group’s sales amounted to EUR 161.5 million, sharply up, +37.3%, compared to the same prior-year period when they reached EUR 117.6 million.

ITALY – Paolino Bacci S.r.l. (Bacci), leading innovator and manufacturer of multi-axis CNC machines for woodworking and composite materials, announced the establishment of Bacci Automation with the acquisition of FA Robot S.r.l., a company out of Pradamano (Ud), Italy. FA Robot S.r.l. specializes in the design and production of solutions for the automation of production processes.

ITALY – Biesse tops the list of Italian companies in the production of wood machining technology per the ranking prepared by Acimall’s research department and published in the latest edition of Xylon. The ranking was produced according to 2015 data.

GERMANY – The Homag Group has combined its competencies in the areas of consulting and software, and plans to expand these further. To this end, the company has pooled the activities, products and employees of SCHULER Consulting, HOMAG eSOLUTION, and additional HOMAG software units to form the new, independent field of business “HOMAG Consulting and Software”.

THAILAND – In April 2015, before the official presentation at Ligna, the Metro-Ply Group became the first company to order the newly developed CPS+ continuous press from Dieffenbacher. Less than two years later, on March 20, 2017, the new “PB Line 3” particleboard plant featuring the CPS+ went into operation. 

FINLAND – Ahlstrom-Munksjö is the new name of the company created by the merger of the speciality paper producer Munksjö and Ahlstrom, after the deal closed on 31 March and it was entered into the Finnish commercial register on 1 April. 

ITALY – Biesse Group has acquired control of Avant, a company specialized in the development of software for the integration and supervision of machining lines and working cells.

ITALY – CORAL S.p.A. of Italy and Atlantic Machinery Corporation in New Milford, CT announced a renewed distribution agreement for the sale of Coral’s woodworking line of dust collectors and antipollution products in the U.S.