FAIRS & EVENTS LIGNA
FAIRS & EVENTS LIGNA 2025 WOODWORKING COMMUNITY SEES LIGNA 2025 AS THE MOST IMPORTANT MILESTONE OF THE YEAR LIGNA in Hanover from 26 to 30 May 2025 will be one of the most important milestones for the woodworking and wood processing industry on the way to the hopedfor industry turnaround. Three months before the trade show opens its gates in its 50th anniversary year, more than 1,200 exhibitors from all over the world occupy around 112,000 square metres of exhibition space, sending a strong signal in a challenging industry situation. “LIGNA is currently almost at the same level as the previous event,” says Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Executive Board, Deutsche Messe AG. “In view of the economic conditions, we are very grateful to everyone involved for their confidence in LIGNA. We are convinced that the world’s leading trade fair for the industry will ensure greater productivity and sustainability through fantastic innovations and thus provide the much-needed motivation and confidence for investments.” “Hardly any exhibitor skips LIGNA - and for good reason. Especially in challenging times, direct dialogue with customers is crucial to generating new investment momentum through innovative solutions. LIGNA is the platform where pioneering technologies are presented to an international audience of experts. And it’s not just manufacturers who cannot afford to miss this opportunity - customers, too, must be there, as the future course of the industry is set right here in Hanover,” says Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Association, Frankfurt am Main. MOTIVATION FOR EMERGING FROM THE DOWNTURN Stephanie Wagner, Head of LIGNA at Deutsche Messe AG, sees the strong industry response to LIGNA as a clear vote of confidence: “We are looking forward to a powerful LIGNA anniversary edition and are convinced that the trade fair, together with its exhibitors and visitors, has the potential to inspire renewed confidence in the market. It wouldn’t be the first time that LIGNA has served as the decisive catalyst for restarting the economic engine.” The significance of LIGNA as the world’s leading trade fair remains strong, and constructive dialogue at LIGNA 2025 is more crucial than ever. Samiron Mondal, CEO of Siempelkamp Business Unit Capital, emphasizes: “LIGNA is the ideal forum for us to meet global customers, showcase our innovations, and bring the trade fair’s motto - ‘Linking people, driving innovation’ - to life. Moreover, we greatly benefit from the exchange of ideas at the event.” Like Mondal, whose company has been exhibiting at LIGNA since its inception, Rudolf Eickhoff, Technical Managing Director of Venjakob, also underscores the importance of LIGNA 2025: “We are currently facing intense competition in the industry, with declining sales in some areas. This makes it all the more important to discuss the latest sustainable production methods to ensure our customers can remain competitive in the long run. We firmly believe that direct contact at the trade fair not only fosters trust but also lays the foundation for successful projects.” LIGNA CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO SCENARIOS Industry experts and market observers believe that the woodworking and wood processing industry - under pressure in recent months, particularly in Europe - could see a recovery in the second half of the year. However, ongoing economic challenges are fueling uncertainty and eroding business confidence. Unclear political developments and their economic impact have also led to delays in crucial investment decisions. Dr. Jochen Köckler remarks: “We are navigating politically tense times concerning tariffs and exchange rates - something many of us have never experienced before. The German federal elections and the outcome of the U.S. presidency will bring clarity. Regardless of broader economic conditions, the woodworking and wood processing industry remains indispensable. Wood, as a raw material, is the ultimate symbol of CO₂ storage and sustainability.” INDUSTRY, TRADE, AND FORESTRY: SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER The three key themes of LIGNA 2025 - CONNECTIVITY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION, and ENGINEERED WOOD - are specifically designed to engage stakeholders across the woodworking community, including industry, trade, and forestry. “The digital connectivity for a sustainable wood industry along the entire value chain, with wood and wood-based materials as the materials of the future - this summarizes in one sentence for what industry, craftsmanship, and forestry want to stand for together in the future,” says Stephanie Wager. She adds: “With connectivity, sustainability, and future materials, the focus topics highlight the three core elements of this transformation and will be prominently featured across all seven exhibition areas.” www.ligna.de 32 No. 1 • March 2025
FAIRS & EVENTS interzum 2025 A COMPASS FOR THE INDUSTRY IN CHALLENGING TIMES The world’s leading trade fair for furniture production and interior design is seeing strong international demand. Interzum 2025 is once again set to be a must-attend gathering focused on innovations and trends. The trade fair, which will take place in Cologne from 20 to 23 May 2025, is a strong anchor for the industry, particularly in times of economic change. The showcases of new products, solutions and ideas at the event equip the sector to jointly find answers to future challenges. Across the globe, suppliers to the furniture industry are facing different economic and social challenges in the individual regions and countries in which they operate. Uncertain forecasts and the mounting pressure to improve sustainability are making long-term planning difficult. Against the backdrop of this dynamic outlook, interzum will once again serve as the world’s most important business and networking platform for the sector. Companies see the leading international trade fair as a unique opportunity to develop solutions and innovations to tackle the challenges that will define the coming years. “We’re delighted with the consistently strong demand for interzum,” says Maik Fischer, the event’s director. “The return of renowned exhibitors, the presence of numerous market- leading companies and the participation of many small and medium-sized businesses show how relevant the world’s leading trade fair is to the industry, especially in economically challenging times.” FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION Under the banner of its new central theme, Rethinking Resources: Circular and Biobased Solutions, interzum will send a strong signal in support of sustainable furniture production. The exhibition will present the industry-relevant theme in all its facets and create a wide variety of hands-on experiences for participants, ranging from a diverse event programme to showcases of the exhibitors’ biocircular innovations. The speakers on the interzum Trend Stage and the interzum Product Stage and in the three interzum Trend Forums will present and discuss innovative ideas, studies and market-ready solutions. Many companies use interzum to reveal their new product launches and technologies to a global audience for the first time. The Rethinking Resources Boulevard will give exhibitors the opportunity to showcase their products and visionary concepts that harness biobased materials and the potential of the circular economy. The interzum award 2025, presented by a jury of international experts, will once again honour outstanding products developed by suppliers to the furniture industry. www.interzum.com European Wood-Based Panel Symposium THE NEW LIMITS ON FORMALDEHYDE A decidedly important 2024 for Catas, which has seen its role as a center of excellence in the wood-furniture sector reconfirmed at the international level - just in the last part of the 2024. Sandro Ciroi, the laboratory’s reference person for issues related to formaldehyde emission - was invited as a speaker to the thirteenth edition of the European Wood-based panel Symposium, held in Hamburg, where he presented a report that allowed the approximately 400 technicians, operators, scientists and entrepreneurs who arrived from all over the world to learn about the state of the art on the new limits set by the European Regulations in terms of formaldehyde emission. The report - produced and presented fourhandedly with Bettina Meyer, from the prestigious Fraunhofer WKI in Braunschweig - not only outlined the evolution of the relevant regulations, but turned the spotlight on the expected regulatory developments that will come into effect from August 2026 and that will reduce the “allowable” emissions by half compared to the current limit, bringing them down to 0.05 ppm (parts per million) or 0.062 milligrams per cubic meter. A European Regulation that will not only affect wood-based panels but will progressively involve every other product that emits this substance, which is moreover “ubiquitous” in nature. The two speakers also reminded those present that to date the European Chemicals Agency has not yet published the revised guidelines for measuring formaldehyde release, expected last October, a document essential for testing laboratories to properly attest compliance with the new regulations. In anticipation of this indispensable “transition”, the Hamburg meeting - organized every two years by Fraunhofer WKI and EPF- European Panel Federation, in cooperation with the International Association for technical issues related to wood (iVTH) - saw the two technicians involved in a conversation that certainly made the challenging content offered to the audience “lighter.” They discussed the path leading to the new revision of the “formaldehyde chapter” contained in the European REACH regulation -“Registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions of chemicals,” the register of all chemicals used on the continent with which restrictions may be associated - and which articles, goods and products are involved or excluded. Ciroi and Meyer then reminded those present of the existence of a voluntary working group made up of the most important European laboratories in the wood-furniture sector, committed to drawing up a “Position Paper” thanks to which it will be possible to define all the technical specifications not present in the regulation, so as to enable the harmonization of testing activities in the different countries, to the benefit of companies that use wood-based panels, which will thus be able to compare themselves with a certain scenario. Bettina Meyer and Sandro Ciroi concluded their contribution by trying to imagine, on the basis of their studies and expertise, what the dictate of regulations to safeguard consumer protection might be in the future, obviously regarding the formaldehyde content of products, a topic that has always been at the attention of legislators. www.catas.com No. 1 • March 2025 33
