HANOVER, Germany -- The organizers of Ligna, the trade fair for machinery, plant and tools for the woodworking and timber processing industry, have announced the main topics to be highlighted at the next show, May 27 to 31, 2019: Integrated Woodworking – Customized Solutions, Smart Surface Technologies and Wood Industry Summit.

Digitization, integration and automation are three major trends and the efficiencies they bring to the wood industry and woodworking trades will remain high on the agenda at Ligna under the banner of Integrated Woodworking – Customized Solutions. In 2019, the show’s exhibitors will focus on new wood-industry applications for smart technologies, new developments and customized solutions for intelligent production across all areas of the wood value chain.

Their exhibitions and displays will span a broad array of themes, including augmented reality, virtual reality, digitization, customer-specific tailoring and safety, and the growing pressure on manufacturers to deliver precision, flexibility and fast throughput. Together, the exhibitors will showcase the many opportunities of batch-size-one production. RFID technology is an important part of this theme area and will once again find its home at the RFID Factory showcase, where exhibitors will present the latest solutions for the furniture industry and logistics. 

Surface technology has been steadily expanding its presence at Ligna, and in 2017 featured for the first time as a display category of its own. The surface technology sector is enjoying strong growth on the back of mounting customer demand for product individualization, and in 2017 this trend resulted in significantly enlarged displays in the surface technology section of the show. The organizers are therefore planning to further highlight and expand this topic at Ligna 2019, focusing in particular on adhesives, liquid coatings and lacquers and digital printing.

Topics and issues of importance to the international forestry and wood industry will again be explored in depth at the Wood Industry Summit, which in 2019 is running under the byline Access to Resources and Technology. The themes covered by the Wood Industry Summit include digitization in forestry, data protection and data integrity, forest firefighting, forestry infrastructure, road networks and logistics.

Alongside the above three key theme areas, Ligna’s organizers are working closely with their partners, the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association, exhibitors and co-promoters to develop additional in-show events that deal with topical issues and challenges. The skilled woodworking trades are one focus of this work, which is why the Ligna Training Workshops that premiered in 2017 will be further enhanced for the 2019 season. Held during the show, these workshops are where technology experts provide user training for joiners, cabinetmakers, carpenters, mobile assemblers and installers and other skilled tradespeople. The workshop program for Ligna 2019 will address a number of new areas, including CAD and software for the skilled trades. See http://www.ligna.de.