GERMANY - This May over 1,500 companies will be gathering in Hannover, Germany, to showcase the future of the woodworking and timber processing industries.

Whether it’s about digitization, automation, IoT platforms or collaborative systems, LIGNA is where innovations are shown for the first time – and on an unrivalled scale. 130,000 square meters (nearly 1.4 million square feet) is the total net display area that will be occupied by exhibition stands featuring the latest woodworking and timber processing plant, machinery and tools.

“From 27 to 31 May 2019, exhibitors from over 50 countries will gather here at the Hannover Exhibition Center to showcase state-of-the-art processing solutions, applications and concepts for the entire forestry & wood industry. The presence of all the world’s leading technology providers will make Hannover the global hotspot for the wood-based industries during those five days. No other fair compares in terms of international appeal”, asserted Dr. Andreas Gruchow, Managing Board member at Deutsche Messe, during the LIGNA Preview press conference on 5 February in Hannover, adding: “Once again in 2019, LIGNA will serve as the industry’s showcase of choice for unveiling their innovations, with a great many exhibitors even timing their development cycles to coincide with the show’s staging every two years.”

Visitors can expect to see innovations across all display categories, from forestry technology, furniture and window manufacturing, through to tooling systems and surface technology. They will also see live demonstrations of fully functional furniture production plants, learn about IoT platforms for Industry 4.0 plants and the latest R&D projects, and be able to participate at networking events throughout the show. Dr. Andreas Gruchow: “One of the big challenges is the ever greater trend to product individualization – a trend that is putting pressure on manufacturers to deliver customized products at least as quickly, profitably and efficiently as with series production. It’s these sorts of challenges for which LIGNA exhibitors will be presenting solutions.”

LIGNA 2019 has three focus themes: “Integrated Woodworking – Customized Solutions”, “Smart Surface Technology” and “Access to Resources and Technology”. The latter is also the keynote theme of the Wood Industry Summit.