Read on for Illegal logging in Cambodia; Live the experience with Biesse open house; EXPOBOIS 2018 cancelled; German exports and imports; Hettich ComfortSwing Best of the Best; Grandiose results with SCM; Stehle looking for Australian dealers; Vauth Sagel’s new image; A new school for Cascia.

Illegal logging in Cambodia

Last e-news we reported on Australian efforts to assist the Lao Government with their forest and furniture programs. News sourced from the ABC report that the Australian Government is being urged to check wooden furniture imported from Vietnam, after the discovery of a massive illegal logging operation. Reporters say logs from national parks in Cambodia are being smuggled across the border to Vietnam, where they are being used in the country’s booming furniture industry. Jago Wadley, senior forests campaigner at the London based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said “This is the single largest log-smuggling operation that we have seen for years. We estimate that between November and March at least 300,000 cubic metres of timber was cut down in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province and exported to Vietnam,” despite a logging ban. The operation was facilitated by millions of dollars in bribes to local officials, with stockpiles located near Vietnamese military outposts on the border, according to EIA. The frenzy of illegal logging began late last year, driven by Vietnam’s other neighbour Laos starting to enforce its logging laws. This left Vietnam’s timber processing industry without enough raw materials.

Live the experience

Visit Sydney 26-28th July, 9am- 5.30pm for Biesse’s 2017 open-house experience. See over 100 tons of high tech machinery performing live demonstrations, enjoy Italian hospitality and chat to leading industry experts. Discover the latest technological innovations from leading hardware, software; product and material suppliers and see the latest edge-banding solutions on the market.

EXPOBOIS 2018 cancelled

The French machinery and production engineering association SYMOP (Syndicat des Machines et Technologies de Production) has made a joint decision with Hannover Fairs International and its French branch office to cancel EXPOBOIS, the French tradeshow for the woodworking industry – originally scheduled to run from 13 to 16 March 2018 in Paris. The organizers took this step in response to the reaction received so far from French woodworking machinery exhibitors. As a representative of the French woodworking machinery industry and proprietor of EXPOBOIS, SYMOP, together with its active organizing partner Deutsche Messe, saw no chance of bringing together the key market players in 2018 in a way that was capable of producing an economically feasible event to adequately reflect the spectrum of companies involved in the target industry. SYMOP will decide on the ultimate fate of EXPOBOIS at a later date.

German exports and imports

In the past year, the value of German woodworking machinery exports grew in comparison to the year before by 8% to around 2 billion Euros. After the first half year, exports were still below 2% of the previous year. In the third and fourth quarters, there was a plus of 9, or respectively 22%. The USA was export market number one in 2016, to which Germany exported 204 million Euros worth of machinery. This corresponds to a plus of 13%. Second and third place were taken up by China including Hong Kong with a plus of 20%, and Poland with a plus of 2%.

On the flip side, German woodworking machinery imports rose in the past year 2016 by 12% to a value of 455 million Euros. China was by far supplier number one. Germany imported woodworking machinery and parts at a value of 122 million Euros. This corresponded to a plus of 12%. The next in line were Italy with a plus of 10%, Poland (plus 40%), Austria (plus 25%) and Czech (plus 24%). The rapid rise of imports from Poland and Czech, and also the high value of the Chinese imports, are an indicator for international links between German machine builders with regional suppliers and their own production sites in the area.

Hettich ComfortSwing “Best of the Best”

ComfortSwing is the first lifting system on the market to raise the dishwasher’s bottom rack to the level of the top rack. This also impressed the jury of the Interzum Award 2017 who chose the Hettich fitting as winner of the “Best of the Best” accolade. Hettich developed ComfortSwing to make loading and emptying the dishwasher more ergonomic. The result is a lifting system that is good for the back and is a pleasure to use. Raising the bottom rack to the height of the top rack is particularly convenient for the user and, with integrated Silent System, also gentle on dishes and glasses. Outstanding design achievements setting new standards in form and function in their segment were chosen by the jury as “Best of the Best”. As the winner of this category, ComfortSwing was presented during Interzum 2017.

Grandiose results with SCM

In this case it’s the so called “white skin”, an interior panelling with unique characteristics used in the concert hall of the new Elbphilharmonie in the port of Hamburg. It was created by the Hasenkopf industrial factory of Mehring with three SCM Routech “Chronos HT” five axes CNC machining centres. The interior panelling was developed using a material produced by Knauf Integral, specially modified for this project. It is an extremely solid and non-flammable material with a high level of white. In total 10,287 parts form the white skin that covers 6,000 square metres. To create the three dimensional surfaces Hasenkopf had to first carry out costly 3D calculations and then convert the CAD data in programs suitable for the CNC. Subsequently macros were created to machine both sides of the glued plaster fibre panels. The routing consisted of almost 1,000,000 irregular cavities. CNC programs with 352,000,000 characters were needed for the almost 1.5 million linear metres of routing. Over 1000 diamond cutters were used in 5000 sharpening cycles.

Stehle looking for Australian dealers

Stehle is a well-known German tool brand for woodworking tools with almost 100 years of experience. They produce a wide range of cutting tools for professionals and semi-professional woodworkers. Stehle is looking for new dealers that could be professional power tool suppliers; DiY shops; machine dealers or sharpening centres. Interested parties should visit the website.

Vauth Sagel’s new image

The long-established company has completely redesigned its image for interzum 2017. The new corporate identity adds a visual component to the company’s strategic realignment represented at the interzum 2017 in the form of the numerous innovative new products and services launched there. “The world has changed. So we are changing, too,” says CEO Claus Sagel. “We have now also transferred our internationalisation and ongoing transformation into a driving force and system provider for the storage solutions of the future to our external image.” Vauth-Sagel presented its new, completely redesigned image for the first time at the interzum to show how the company is moving towards the future.

A new school for Cascia

A charity dinner held by Fiam Glass; Biesse Group and Mediolanum Foundation raised 70,000 Euros for the Francesca Rava Foundation that helps children World-wide, in this case for the children affected by the earthquake in central Italy. Fiam and Biesse Group have a close relationship due to Biesse Intermac glass division and Fiam’s standing as a top glass producer known World-wide for their innovative and artistic works.