LIGNA 2009: ended up successfully mobilizing the strengths of the wood and forestry industries.
Hannover, Germany.

Attracting a highly international audience, LIGNA HANNOVER 2009 closed on an upbeat note, capping five days of brisk business activity and giving the wood industry hope of renewed growth. "LIGNA HANNOVER far exceeded the expectations of our exhibitors from 50 different
countries," enthused Deutsche Messe Managing Board member Stephan Ph. Kühne at the closing press conference.

"As the world's foremost trade fair the forestry and wood industries, LIGNA has once again triggered new momentum and a brighter outlook for the road ahead, despite the troubled economy. The show's exhibitors and visitors offered proof positive of the industry's determination to respond to the challenges it faces with flexibility and innovativeness. The keynote theme of resource efficiency also played a major role in helping stimulate new growth," Kühne remarked.

Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers' Association within VDMA, referred to LIGNA as a "shelter in the storm", adding that LIGNA's popularity among exhibitors and visitors underscored its "unparalleled status on the
international trade fair scene."

During the five-day run of the "world fair for the forestry and wood industries", 1,758 exhibitors from 50 nations presented their products and services on total display space of 130,152 square meters - impressive results, only slightly down from the "boom year" of 2007. A strong exhibitor lineup cemented LIGNA's reputation as the world's No. 1 event for the forestry and wood industries. With regard to attendance, Kühne remarked: "Given the factors affecting the industry, a total of over 83,000 visitors is highly respectable. As a potion against the current economic ills, the high caliber of our audience gave rise to many new projects, scores of new business opportunities and numerous business deals." One example: the Brandenburg-based firm Timme Stapelautomaten reported closing a major export deal at LIGNA for deliveries to Canada and the United States, which will keep production at high levels for the entire year.

"While visitor numbers did reflect strained economies around the world as well as the fact that many firms have been forced to drastically cut travel budgets, well over a third of all trade visitors with decision-making authority still came from abroad," commented Kühne.

LIGNA HANNOVER 2009 again impressively demonstrated its international appeal, drawing visitors from over 90 different countries. In terms of countries and/or regions of origin, the percentage remained stable, most notably for the Americas and Asia. An upswing in attendance was registered for Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and France.

Trade visitors again accounted for over 95 percent of total attendance. "Our success in maintaining this extremely positive result in spite of the tough economic circumstances was a remarkable achievement," declared Kühne. In terms of audience background, the
construction industry and the interior finishing sectors accounted for an increased share of visitors, while attendance by machinery trade professionals was down. As Kühne explained, these figures represented "a clear reflection of current economic realities."

Making more out of wood - technology to optimize the use of natural resources.

The slogan "Making more out of wood - Technology for resource efficiency" was the perfect choice: A large number of exhibitors incorporated this motto into their presentations at the event. Businesses showcased innovations along the entire forestry and wood industry supply chain. Numerous workshops and presentations featured expert debates on issues like the efficient exploitation of wood as a raw material, the economical use of time and energy, and ways to cut manufacturing costs.

As Stephan Kühne put it: "At LIGNA HANNOVER 2009 the industry has again demonstrated the importance of investing in state-of-the-art technology, particularly during times of crisis, so that one can be ready to take advantage of the recovery when the time comes. Investing
today means an advantage over against the competition. In the forestry and wood industries, as anywhere else, efficiency is the key to long-term viability." As the leading trade fair for its sector, LIGNA presented innovative highlights, conferences and special events over a
net exhibition area of more than 130,000 square meters. "Our concept of developing LIGNA as a hub for innovations, special presentations, trade conferences and competitions has been borne out by the results," stated Kühne.

Resource efficiency from the logging stage

Efficient wood processing starts with logging, as demonstrated by the huge machines on show at the LIGNA open-air site. These machines are able to transport logs and lift, transport and saw blocks of timber, as well as chop wood up into tiny chips. According to Klaus Longmuss,
General Manager of international forestry specialist Wood-Mizer: "We are huge fans of the open-air site at LIGNA, because this lets us display much bigger machinery. LIGNA is a key event in the forestry sector, and the leading industry event worldwide."

New trends in energy and material conservation under the EXPO canopy

The focus on "future applications for wood" was also prevalent in the pavilions located beneath the EXPO canopy. Along with new technologies and processes covering all aspects of logging, logistics and storage systems, visitors were able to catch up on training and professional
development programs, energy and material economy, plus the latest information and communications systems.

The new P34 trends pavilion, featuring information on how to conserve energy and materials in the forestry technology sector, was a popular drawing card. Another highlight was the "nano truck," featuring innovative nanotechnology effects.

This year's exhibition also focused on the use of wood to generate energy, highlighting heating processes with various combustion materials and their energy behavior. One of the standouts here was the "Virtual Forest" at the Forestry & Wood cluster of the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia. After donning 3D glasses, visitors were able to see how software can be used to record the parameters of a forest and create a kind of "curriculum vitae" for individual trees, allowing for more accurate forest inventories and of timber stock estimates.

Highly efficient timber construction systems, machinery, equipment and tools for joiners, carpenters and cabinetmakers at "Handwerk, Holz und mehr" (Wood Crafts)

Another popular attraction involved the wood crafts display entitled "Handwerk, Holz und mehr", which also concentrated on the efficient use of resources. This show-within-a-show featured the latest wood processing techniques and IT solutions, along with special events and competitions. A prize for "Service to the joinery and cabinetmaking trades" was presented for the first time at LIGNA 2009. The shortlist of finalists had been selected by the customers themselves (i.e.
joinery and cabinetmaking firms).

Complete houses showcasing innovative timber construction solutions were displayed. The main themes here involved facade design and modernization measures to achieve optimum efficiency.

In Hall 17, trainees and vocational students built ten playhouses for kindergartens, including a wooden boat and a fire station. Running under the title of "Form & Function", the German Association of Carpentry and Joinery organized a display of journeyman projects by joiners and cabinetmakers. The awards ceremony took place at LIGNA 2009, with German Federal Economics Minister Guttenberg doing the honors as the official patron. And in the "Wonders in Wood" show, established artists and up-and-coming talents displayed their wooden sculptures, inlay work, jewelry and toys.

"Handwerk, Holz & Mehr (Wood Crafts)" took up over five halls. This show was targeted at joiners, carpenters, cabinetmakers and mechanical engineers, featuring state-of-the-art wood construction machinery, equipment and tools designed to save material and lower production
costs. It also provided the context for awarding Germany's most prestigious prize for wood buildings, the Timber Construction Prize. True to the fair's tagline of "Making more out of wood," prizes were awarded for buildings and parts of buildings constructed mainly from wood and wood-based materials, along with other naturally regenerated raw materials.

Customers eager for a close-up look at complex machinery

Exhibitors showcased scores of new ideas on solid wood processing inHalls 12 and 13, featuring live displays of advanced systems for drying sawn timber and utilizing waste wood. According to Klaus Müller, Communications Manager at MICHAEL WEINIG AG in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany: "LIGNA has always been a great show and will remain so, because it is the world's only flagship show for our sector. We get to demonstrate our machines live here, which is exactly what makes this fair so special. Wood is an emotional industrial material, and visitors want to understand our machines, which is what makes our demonstrations so popular. Customers want to experience the machines for themselves. LIGNA is always a source of new ideas and fresh momentum as far as we are concerned."

LIGNA visitors fascinated by state-of-the-art furniture-making displays

In the halls devoted to the furniture industry, visitors were able to view the latest industrial furniture manufacturing equipment in operation. Resource efficiency was also a common theme in the associated displays. One manufacturer demonstrated the use of innovative production technologies for making a range of IKEA cupboards. Visitors were able to watch the production process on video, or actually see the process happening before their eyes in the individual plant components.

Many exhibitors displayed technologies for flexible, increasingly individualized surface design. Innovations in this area included new painting and surface treatment technologies intended to reduce energy and material costs.

Special presentations, seminars, conferences and competitions

Networking and knowledge transfer were the main focus of the conferences and seminars addressing current industry issues. These events attracted experts from around the world. The theme of the 2nd international BBE/VDMA business and export forum for wood energy was "Establishing and Developing International Wood Energy Markets." The forum was organized by the German Federal Bioenergy Association (BBE) as well as the Power Systems Association within VDMA.

Careers opportunities featured in a number of special presentations such as "Careers in Wood," "Teaching and Research," and "Careers in the Forestry & Wood Industries," which were all very well received.

The competitions constituted another major attraction. Competitive tree fellers vied with axe and saw for the second time in the LIGNA Cup, part of the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® championship series. This time the entrants were also competing for a place in the field for the
German Championship event to be held on 11 July in Frankfurt. The official "belt sander racing championships" were also held for the first time in Germany. In this remarkable event, sanders are simply switched on and left to race down the "track" without any manipulation by human operators. The fastest machine wins. In the 8th Lower Saxony Forwarder Competition, forwarder operators faced off in their huge machines to move their logs as quickly as possible.

Stephan Kühne summed the event as a whole as follows: "LIGNA was eagerly anticipated, and ended up successfully mobilizing the strengths of the wood and forestry industries."

The next LIGNA HANNOVER will be staged in from 30 May to 3 June in 2011 at Hannover, Germany.