GERMANY - From 22 to 26 May, 1,500 exhibitors from 49 nations are presenting a wealth of amazing innovations at LIGNA – the world’s leading trade fair for machinery, plant and tools for the woodworking and timber processing industries.

“Given the current business climate in the wood industry, the growing wave of digitalization and our revamped thematic layout, we are looking forward to a very successful LIGNA this year. The show has experienced the first significant rise in booked space in several years, and we have already outstripped the final figures for the most recent staging of LIGNA, in 2015,” commented Dr. Andreas Gruchow, the Deutsche Messe Managing Board member responsible for LIGNA.

Ligna 2017 will occupy 128,000 square meters (over 1,377,700 sq. ft.) of display space. And it will profile products and solutions in the display categories of Tools and Machinery for Custom and Mass Production, Surface Technology, Wood Based Panel Production, Sawmill Technology, Energy from Wood, Machine Components and Automation Technology, and Forestry Technology – all intelligently grouped in a new technology-centric layout.

“The revamped layout has been extremely well received by our exhibitors and has triggered a significant upswing in rented space. A key change in 2017 is that the hall layout is more in keeping with the technological convergence between small woodworking workshops and large industrial processors. The current very sound economic environment, which will be the backdrop to LIGNA 2017, is reflected in the first quarter figures released by the Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). According to the VDMA’s quarterly report, German companies recorded double-digit increases in order and sales volumes, with EU countries, the US and China among the key growth drivers,” Gruchow said. 

LIGNA’s organizers, Deutsche Messe and the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association, owe their upbeat mood to the dynamism of the technology landscape, as expressed in the show’s new layout, the upswing experienced by the wood industry in many parts of the world and, not least, the growing tide of digitalization. Integrated manufacturing and digitalization are transforming the machines, systems and tools used in the woodworking and timber processing industries.

Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, Smart Factory: These are the keynote themes of LIGNA 2017. They are the names and faces of a new generation of technologies that will empower users of all types to achieve greater efficiency and productivity and become more competitive.

“Visitors can expect a wealth of innovations and a world-unique lineup of machines and sophisticated plant and equipment, including live demonstrations. There’s also a supporting program of conferences and forums in which luminaries of the woodworking and timber processing industries will present and debate future-defining trends,” added Christian Pfeiffer, Deutsche Messe’s Global Director LIGNA and Woodworking Events.