The event will see market players attempt to impress solution-seekers with an array of products and services. Together, they will present key technologies for every single link of the wood value chain—plant, tools and machinery for industrial furniture manufacturers, carpenters, joiners and cabinetmakers; solutions for processing and working with solid wood; sawmill technology; systems for wood panel and veneer production; forestry equipment and machinery; and a range of technologies for extracting energy from wood. And as diverse as the technologies on display may be, they are united in promoting greater efficiency for every stage of production and processing.
The show is championing the cause of greater efficiency and integration in production by means of advanced technology. It features entire production lines in action—as tangible proof that integrated production and Industry 4.0 are indeed within reach. The exhibition will showcase developments and advances in automation and digitization in the wood industry.
“Survival in today’s competitive markets belongs to those who master the latest strategies, systems and solutions,” Dr JochenKöckler, member of the management board of the event’s organiser, said. “The ‘fourth industrial revolution’ has reached the wood and furniture industries, sparking a move towards total integration that shows no signs of abating.”
“To take advantage of this trend and remain competitive, manufacturers need to optimise their data flows. And that’s true whether they are engaged in mass or one-off production. In the near future, workpieces, machines and logistic systems will be able to ‘talk’ to one another, and IT, telecommunications technology and manufacturing will merge to form a seamlessly integrated system. It’s a new production paradigm and it offers enormous opportunities for everyone concerned.”
The show will feature more than 1,500 exhibitors from over 40 countries, whose displays will fill some 120,000 square meters (over 1,290,000 sq. ft.) of space and impress solution-seekers in need of the latest furniture industry plant and equipment and innovative technologies for the wood and forestry industries.
This year, the top ten exhibiting nations, apart from Germany, are Italy, Austria, China, Sweden, Taiwan, China, Switzerland, Turkey, France, Spain and the US. Much of the growth in terms of leased exhibition space has come from Italy, China, Turkey and the US.

Industrial Summit

One major new development is the premiere of the Wood Industry Summit, an intelligent, integrated platform comprising an exhibition area, a matchmaking platform, and a dialogue forum. The summit targets exhibitors from international companies and economic regions that provide large-scale forestry machinery and other primary wood processing technologies.
These exhibitors will have the opportunity to network directly with visitors from integrated companies operating in areas such as pulp and paper, forestry and log and timber processing. They will also meet forest owners, wood/timber merchants, investors, researchers and representatives of the timber-rich regions of Russia, China, Eastern Europe and North and South America. In this way, the summit will broker new opportunities in growth markets.
Each day of the summit will start with a brief lead-in presentation on a highly topical issue, followed by an in-depth lecture on market entry conditions for a selected export market. Each day’s proceedings will also include presentations on various solutions by exhibitors and will be rounded off with a tour of the exhibition, followed by an expert discussion panel.
The exhibition will also feature the Fibers in Process marketplace—a group pavilion that will provide a wood industry perspective on the various processes and technologies used in the pulp and paper industry. As well as offering an integrated overview of the entire resource cycle in this industry, the pavilion will focus on measurement and control systems, process optimization in automation, industry services and asset management, and resource and energy efficiency.
The open-air site and neighbouring pavilions will also feature a number of exhibitors offering the latest in sustainable forestry and wood-energy equipment and solutions.