LIGNA 2023 – innovations, impressions and conclusions

LIGNA Hannover | The world of woodworking 

The most important trade fair in the wood processing industry in the world took place from May 15 to 19 in Hanover, Germany, the place where innovations in the industry start. 

As a novelty, in addition to the central purpose of the exhibition – the presentation of machinery, equipment and accessories for wood processing, LIGNA 2023 offered visitors the opportunity to follow the development of topics such as Wood Transformation, Prefabricated Construction Processes, Efficient Recruitment, Sustainability and Circular Economy, Energy Efficiency, Artificial Intelligence plus many other topics of interest to manufacturers of any size. These topics were treated and developed by experienced speakers, offering the audience presentations oriented towards applications and solutions. 

1,300 companies from 50 countries presented their solutions for the furniture manufacturing industry, solid wood processing and the primary processing sector. The focus was on 2 major topics: sustainability and digitalization. According to the fair organizers, approximately 80,000 visitors from 160 countries took the opportunity to learn about the technologies of the future and production processes that use resources more efficiently.

Technologies such as Hand Guard, presented by Altendorf, the intelligent software systems from Homag, the ultra-modern finishing technologies from SCM, and the world-renowned machines for furniture production and solid wood processing presented by Martin, Felder, Holzher and Weinig show us that this industry is growing, and that the resource around which all of these technologies revolve – wood – is gaining ever greater popularity. This is something we have been advocating for many years, judging by our customers' growing interest in automated technologies, both hardware and software.

As a promoter and pioneer of the Romanian industry in machinery, equipment and accessories for woodworking, DANIBRUM România was represented at the fair by a delegation made up of:

Mihai Vatavu – General Manager

Robert Colpoș – Marketing Manager

Benjamin Brumă – Manager, CNC Machinery Department

Ionel Pașcu – Manager, Spare Parts and Consumables Department

Luciana Anăstăsoaie – Customer Service Analyst

Georgiana Huluță – Assistant Manager

Our constant desire to improve the products and services offered has helped us to have productive discussions, based on specific situations of customers in Romania. 

Innovations in machinery are increasingly oriented towards the digital sphere. If in past years, manufacturers sought to innovate as much as possible on the hardware side of equipment, developing the most diverse and complex operations, we see how the trend pivots towards the sphere of digital, artificial intelligence, intelligent automation and the development of software that allows the integration of robots into production lines. 

One of the most impressive innovations at the fair was presented by our partner HOUFEK – Czech Republic, a manufacturer of premium sanding machines, CNC machines and conventional machines. At their stand, visitors could explore the Houfek showroom in the Czech Republic through virtual reality (VR). In addition, using augmented reality, visitors could place the equipment at real size anywhere in the stand area. These technologies will make a difference, because they make sales processes more efficient by giving potential customers a clear picture of what they want to buy.

Lohmeyer Wood IQ, one of our main suppliers of industrial machinery, was present at the fair, where, together with the manufacturer Nanxing, it presented intelligent workstations for furniture production from chipboard, MDF or HDF in a generous space.

The nesting line BAZ895n, with an automatic loading and unloading system, a pre-sorting function and, in the custom configuration, 2 working units and a robot for sorting processed parts, demonstrated the power of a fully automated production line. Easy to integrate into the workflow, this system is designed to increase productivity and improve competitiveness by reducing costs, while also removing the pressure caused by the unpredictability of the labor force.

The automatic drilling line, made up of NCB612FTL drilling centers with a C axis combined with NCB612DPTL combined stations, covers almost all requirements for drilling and processing chipboard, MDF or HDF panels. Besides the advantage of automating the entire drilling process, this complex system delivers a very high production speed with minimal human input.

Edge banding technologies were also on show. KAM7+ Rapid, which we presented last year as a premiere at BIFE-SIM 2022, is an edge banding machine with very broad applicability, since a single edge banding machine can perform 3 operations:

• edge banding on straight edge;
• edge banding application on a partially inclined edge at 45˚;
• edging on edge inclined at 45˚;

All this at very high working speeds and excellent results. 

The second industrial automatic edge banding machine presented by Lohmeyer at LIGNA 2023 was the KAM795IQ, a truly industrial unit, characterized by high working speeds, a massive and stable structure, superior-quality components and extensive software/hardware support. The machine can use both EVA and PUR adhesives. It is an edge banding machine that can compete with renowned similar machines, at much lower prices but with excellent results.

A top product, aimed at manufacturers or service providers who want a machine that allows for high production capacity. 

Conclusion

The very high interest of visitors in the solutions presented by our partners and suppliers, during the 4 days of the fair, strengthened our belief that we have strong partners, correlated and connected with leading technologies. 

Words like automation of production flows, operational safety, increased productivity, energy efficiency, Web 3.0, IoT, big data & analytics, AR and VR will become important for those seeking a career in this ever-changing industry. 

Will it be easy? Certainly not. But what we can say with certainty is that it will be an extremely interesting and challenging chapter. And we are with those who want a sustainable and professional partner at an affordable cost for the Romanian market.