The head of the World Health Organisation has declared an end to the COVID public health emergency saying most countries have “Returned to life as we knew it in 2019.” This was evident this May when the two international trade shows interzum and Ligna resumed to great visitor numbers in Germany.

Stop Press, interzum.

Approximately 62,000 trade visitors (74,000 in 2019) from some 150 countries attended the leading international trade fair for suppliers to the furniture and interior design industry at interzum in Cologne, Germany. Held 9^th to 12^th May, 1,600 exhibitors, down slightly from 1,806 in 2019, displayed a wide range of product with a central theme of sustainability. Aspects such as resource efficiency, smart materials, renewable energies or recycling and upcycling were key to many of the innovations exhibited.

The fair’s organisers scrutinised interzum’s own carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, ranging from event technology and energy to logistics and waste disposal along the way through to food service. These emissions were reduced wherever possible. Any emissions that could not be reduced were be offset by financing two certified, internationally recognised climate protection projects in India; the first a wind energy generation scheme in Gujarat. The second, a reforestation scheme in Karnataka.

There was no stronger demonstration of sustainability than the stand of the owner-managed storage solution company Vauth Sagel. Spanning 832 square metres, the Vauth Sagel exhibit, designed as a polygonal garden landscape clearly indicated the direction in which Vauth-Sagel is heading: “We have grown because we have made lots of good decisions; and we can continue this tradition by making lots of good decisions for the future”, claims CEO Claus Sagel.

This year, Häfele will celebrate 100 years with a display focus on ‘Maximising the value of space.’ Displays included theme worlds of kitchen, caravan, micro living, office, and hotel, with additional displays featuring their extensive lighting products, and their ‘We Care’ service. Interesting products from Häfele included onefix plus, a connector based on minifix, and slido F-Flush57, their innovative twin-panel sliding door system. Häfele’s Connect Light Experience won an interzum award for high product quality.

Salice, a brand we’ve known for decades impressed with the innovative Conecta concealed hinge for either wooden or aluminium-framed glass doors. The product received an interzum award for high product quality. Their Exedra pocket door system has been further developed and a new 70kg drawer runner F70 features soft, decelerated closing of the drawer.

Titus celebrated their 50^th anniversary at interzum. Highlights showcased the Titus T-type hinge that now features a tool-free hinge cup fixing system. The Push Latch RV is the latest addition to the range of push locks and handles from Titus, designed to provide secure locking of cabinets during transit for a variety of applications in recreational vehicles, boats, and yachts.

Awarded ‘Best of the Best’ at the interzum award 2023: FurnSpin from Hettich brings elegant dynamism to high-end furniture design. A flick of the wrist turns the carcase from the closed to an open position. FurnSpin synchronises two forms of movement: swivel action as well as rotation through 180 degrees. Benefiting from refined kinematics, the cabinet body moves along a defined path, preventing any collision between furniture edges. FurnSpin cancels out centrifugal force; torque is balanced so carefully that even very light objects don’t fall over or slip about in the cabinet but stay firmly in place during the spinning movement.

Interzum presented to the international trade audience as an active shaper of change.  Three ‘Trend Forum’s’ were presented at this year’s interzum; Materials and nature, Textile and machinery, and Function and components. The forum ‘Materials and nature’ concentrated on “Neo-ecology” and in particular on the transformation towards a circular economy, making optimal use of the available resources.

The trend ‘Function and components’ focused on furniture in change, shifting boundaries. Häfele displayed a new drawer system where it is possible to disassemble the drawer into its individual parts. All materials are checked in order to reassemble them in such a way that the individual components can be easily recycled at any time.

If you wanted to talk about how much carbon each manufacturer had removed from the atmosphere you certainly could, but more tangible methods to help the environment is the industry push to a circular economy, re-using as much material as possible and assisting in minimising pollution. The next fair will build on these piers of responsibility because industry can always do better. The next event will be held on 20–23 May 2025

Stop Press, Ligna.

From Monday 15^th to Friday 19^th May, 1,300 companies from 50 different countries presented their solutions for the wood industry, the furniture-making industry, the woodworking trades and the forestry sector at Ligna in Hannover, Germany. The focus was on the two megatrends of sustainability and digitisation. The response from Germany and all over the world was equally high. 80,000 visitors (90,000 in 2019) from 160 countries took advantage of the opportunity to inform themselves about smart machines and resource-saving production processes.

Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of VDMA Woodworking Machinery said, “The show demonstrated that the woodworking and wood processing industry offers its customers the necessary technologies for competitive, and at the same time, sustainable production. In view of the uncertain situation currently confronting the woodworking and wood processing industry, the success of LIGNA 2023 speaks volumes for its status as a source of momentum. Not only is it a driver for the industry in good times, but above all, it delivers solutions for the challenges ahead.”

Achim Homeier, Senior Director Global Marketing & Product Management, HOMAG Group said, “It was surprising how many people came because after four years, nobody knows what’s really going to happen. But we are very satisfied with the result.” Oliver Kunzweiler, Director Central Marketing Weinig Group said, “It was absolutely crazy to be here at LIGNA 2023. The place was crowded.”

Jan Kurth is Managing Director of the furniture industry’s VDM and VHK associations and said, “The EU Commission is currently working on several legislative projects aimed at the transition to a circular (sustainable) economy.” A circular economy designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems. To the sustainability megatrend add increasing digitisation, or ‘Industry 4.0’ and soon to include Ai (artificial intelligence) and you have a fair that anticipates a ‘transformation of the wood industry.’

A Few Ligna Highlights

Altendorf Group displayed their ‘Hand Guard’ system for sliding table panel saws they showed us a prototype of at the last Ligna show. Altendorf claim this is a globally unique early detection system with two cameras and is the world’s first and only Ai- and camera-based safety assistance system for sliding table saws.

Biesse Group showcased a new visual identity that represents the corporate renewal process and actively expresses the group’s values and identity – centred on multi-materiality and being inherently international – while preserving the features that distinguish the various sectors in which it operates. In their preview area, Biesse presented a crowd-stopping edge banding machine where hydrogen is used to power the laser edge applicator. One litre of water produces 1.5 kilometres of panels!

Felder Group presented their solution for panel saw safety with PCS (Preventive Contact System) and their revolutionary PUR-edge banding without a glue pot using a PUR glue strip with ‘GlueBox.’ An interesting innovation was the positioning of vacuum pods on CNC machines using with augmented reality glasses, available as an option with Felder’s ‘Format4 F4Integrate’ software solution.

The IMA Schelling Group (WoodTech Australia) is introducing the first production lines with homogenous software developed in-house: aimi will enable visualisation and control of the machines and entire plant from anywhere. With implementation projects already underway, IMA Schelling is reaching an important milestone on the way to achieving this.

With the NiRo collet chuck Premium, Leitz launched an innovation that combines several processing needs. The clamping system is entirely stainless steel, has a long lifetime and is process-reliable in the event of high air or material humidity. Optimized key flats ensure safe operation during clamping and unclamping. Due to a ball-bearing ring, the power transmission to the tool shank is significantly higher than with common chucks and as a result provides the optimum hold for maximum precision during machining with twice the holding force.

The unusual DIACURVE nesting cutter from LEUCO incorporates end-to-end arc-shaped cutting edges and large gullets. The tool delivers high cutting quality without chip congestion. Its diameter remains constant which makes it uncomplicated. Its overall appearance and design of the diamond tips underline the innovative and patent pending construction. With fewer diamond tips and two alternating shear angles per cutting edge, the tool achieves precise and chip-free results. The extra-large gullets enable higher feed speeds.

Homag Group’s always interesting ‘innovation centre’ gave us a look into the group’s future with Ai measuring panels for stress. Systems will display arrows on panels to indicate the next manual movement. Edge bander Ai will measure ambient temperature and adjust glue for best adhesion. Dust extraction and vacuum systems can automatically be turned off when the machine does not require it.

SCM Group presented their award-winning ‘Blade-Off.’ This new, anticipatory safety system for SCM sliding table circular saws eliminates accidental contact between the operator’s hand and the saw blade. The system intervenes before the saw blade is accidentally touched or dangerously approached by the operator. Intelligent sensors detect parts of the human body and distinguish them from actual materials. Another feature of the SCM exhibit was the SCM Maestro connect Digital Service platform that ensures machine status monitoring, maintenance optimization, rapid support for issue management, suggestions on spare parts and augmented reality support.

Weinig Group demonstrated a large-scale system for the complete manufacturing process from raw material to finger-jointed lamellae and solid wood panels. In a cross-cut finger jointing line a robot with a vacuum unit stacks boards onto the line. Jean-Philippe Hildebrand of Luxscan technologies explained these are assessed using the CombiScan Sense scanner with Ai technology, and any identified defects are cut out by an OptiCut 450 Quantum, the world’s fastest high-speed cross-cut saw. Up to 240 good parts per minute are automatically transferred to the HS 200 finger jointing line.

LIGNA 2023 was not only a platform for presenting new technologies, but also a venue for knowledge transfer and networking. Smart, connected machines, systems and processes that make costs and production more efficient were particularly popular with the visitors. There was also strong demand for automation and process-optimizing solutions to cushion the impact of the shortage of skilled workers. Supplier will cover both interzum and Ligna in more detail in the next issue. The next LIGNA runs from 26 to 30 May 2025.