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Bioenergy no 4 july 2015

wood processing industries with digitalisation of production processes, flexibility and individualisation, integrated production, self-organising or “smart” factories, cost-reducing automation solutions and digital data exchange along the entire supply chain. – This LIGNA has more than met our expectations, which were high to begin with. Once again it has generated even more momentum in an already positive market environment, and demonstrated the potential that new technologies hold for everyone in the wood industry. This is precisely what our customers from around the world expect from their flagship fair, Wolfgang Pöschl, CEO of Michael Weinig AG and Chairman of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association, summing up the show. Pöschl was refering to the live demos of furniture production in a simulated factory environment that offered a glimpse into such integrated manufacturing and mass customisation possibilities. The “Surprisingly Versatile” presentation focused on just how versatile woodworking technology is on dry-machining other materials besides wood, targeting interior decorating, construction and automotive industries. Certainly it would seem that business is brisk in the solid wood processing sector with a will to invest reported by exhibitors from across the sector: sawmills, wood-panel industries to window joineries and cabinet makers, with many companies saying it was the best LIGNA in almost 38 Bioenergy International No 80, 4-2015 a decade. – For anybody interested in doing international business, Hannover was clearly the place to be. More than 25 percent of trade visitors here were either planning to place orders at the show or had already done so, said Köckler. Revamped LIGNA 2017 The next edition is slated for 22–26 May 2017. At the closing press conference the organisers revealed plans to revamp the trade show to a more “visitor-centric” thematic layout. From a biomass to energy perspective the most significant change is that the “Energy from Wood” displays will be moved next door to the “Woodbased Panel Production” exhibits. The move suggests that this sector has, just as the sawmilling, pulp and paper industries have, begun to see opportunities in adding or integrating bioenergy applications into the overall business model instead of seeing a fibre competition threat. – LIGNA is the world’s leading trade fair and innovation marketplace for the forestry and wood industries. The new layout reflects today’s LIGNA visitors’ work situations more accurately. There is no longer a clear demarcation between skilled trade and industrial-scale operations, the choice of machinery is no longer driven by size or scale and the differentiation between solid wood and wood based panels has lost relevance in many cases. The changes we have made will ensure LIGNA’s market leadership well into the future, ended Dr Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (VDMA). Text & photos: Alan Sherrard BI80/4881/AS EVENT (Above) A busy start to 2015 for Italian biomass boiler specialists Uniconfort with several high-profile installations and a new subsidary in the UK. – Ligna has been good for us with visitors from many countries, said Davis Zinetti, Director and Erika Tessari, Marketing Manager. – We fabricate almost everything ourselves at our factory, explained Indre Sasnauskaite, Sales and Marketing Manager, Radviliskis Machine Factory, a Lithuanian manufacturer of pellet equipment.


Bioenergy no 4 july 2015
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