LIGNA 2019: Showcases And Events For The Primary Wood Industry

by | Nov 20, 2018 | News

Next year, from 27 to 31 May, the world’s leading trade fair for woodworking and wood processing plant, machinery and tools will present a wealth of innovations and applications for the entire wood industry. LIGNA 2019 will occupy some 130,000 square meters (1.4 million sq. ft.) of net display space, spread across 10 exhibition halls and the open-air site at the Hannover Exhibition Center. The primary wood industry is an integral part of LIGNA and will feature prominently in halls 25, 26, 27 and on the open-air site. “All the leading providers of plant and machinery for the primary wood industry have already registered for LIGNA 2019,” said Christian Pfeiffer, Deutsche Messe’s Global Director LIGNA & Woodworking Events. “That’s all the big names in sawmill technology, machinery for wood based panel production, technology for custom and mass production involving the processing of solid wood, wood energy technology and, of course, forestry technology. And I’m especially pleased to announce the premiere of a new sawmill technology group pavilion from Latvia, in Hall 25.”

At LIGNA 2019, providers of plant, machinery and equipment for the primary wood industry will feature at numerous showcases and events that go well beyond standard exhibitions:

Guided Tour On “Sawmill Technology – Innovations and Trends”

In 2019, for the very first time, LIGNA will offer a Guided Tour (in German and English) for visitors with an interest in sawmill technology. Faced with dwindling wood resources, sawmill operators are increasingly looking for technologies that enable them to efficiently process sawn timber into value-added products. Manufacturers of sawmilling machinery are rising to this challenge with new high-tech, high-efficiency systems for maximizing sawn timber yield and detecting key characteristics in individual timbers and logs. Hence this tour, which focuses on sawmilling technologies and processes, including the following: machinery for all log applications, whether cut-to-length or uncut, large or small-diameter, plus systems ranging from high-performance to small and versatile, to custom-optimized; machine tools for primary wood processing; machines for tool making and tool maintenance; the full range of timber logistics and log yard products and solutions; machinery for handling, sorting and packaging; measurement technology for all applications; drying technologies for all applications; and energy plant and waste wood utilization technologies for sawmills.

Wood Industry Summit and “Future Workshop For Forestry & Wood” – The innovations platform for the forestry and wood industry

“Access to Resources and Technology” is the focus theme for the 3rd Wood Industry Summit, which will be held in Hall 26. Organized by Deutsche Messe in partnership with the German Forestry Council (KWF), it is an international dialogue and technology showcase comprising a forum, lounge and exhibition area. Its purpose: to help visitors access new growth markets. For the first time, the summit will also feature the “Future Workshop for Forestry & Wood” showcase – a group pavilion for startups that is inspired by the German government’s “Charter for Wood 2.0” policy.

14th German Logging Championship

In 2019, for the first time, Deutsche Messe and the German Woodsmen’s Championships Association (VWMD) will be co-staging the German Logging Championships – the “Formula 1” of forestry skills – on the open-air site at LIGNA. At the 14th German Logging Championship, Germany’s best 100 or so forestry professionals will demonstrate their chainsaw skills under the watchful eye of an expert panel of judges. The contestants’ endurance, handling skills and precision will be put to the test in five disciplines: tree felling, chain fitting, combined cut bucking, precision bucking and delimbing.

Outdoor demonstration site for forestry technology

The outdoor demonstration site premiered successfully in 2017 and is back again for LIGNA 2019. It is a dedicated area where the latest forestry machines and technology developments are shown in action – all under careful expert moderation.
The outdoor site is organized in partnership with the German Forestry Council (KWF) and will be located in the middle of the German Logging Championship area. It will feature moderated technology demonstrations on each day of the show.

KWF Business Pavilion – Tomorrow’s forestry technology today

2019 will mark the ninth time that the German Forestry Council (KWF) is spearheading this special forestry technology presentation at LIGNA. Held in Pavilion 33 beneath the iconic EXPO canopy, the unique, technology-centric forestry industry meeting hub is organized by KWF with input from the German Association of Forestry Contractors (AFL) and the Lower Saxony Forestry Service (as represented by the Lower Saxony School of Forestry – NFBz). It is aimed at forestry companies and takes a manufacturer-neutral look at key forestry issues and challenges.

Among the featured topics are:
Forestry 4.0: In today’s forestry industry, digitization starts among the trees, with all processes, from crop to log yard, now fully integrated. Large scale machines, such as harvesters and forwarders, now have onboard computers and are networked with each other. This is Forestry 4.0, a topic that will also be covered by the displays on the open-air site in front of the pavilion. Highlights here include displays of log-yard data flows and data processing. There will also be displays of technologies dedicated to hazard detection and prevention, safety and rescue for forestry workers. Topics here include “Natural Disasters in the Forest”, “Precision Forestry” and “Forest First-aid and Survival”.

Battery-powered machinery in professional forestry:
Thanks to research in the automotive and energy industries, rechargeable batteries are steadily becoming smaller, more affordable, more powerful, longer-lasting and less maintenance-intensive. These developments are now flowing through into forestry work methods and technologies. Pavilion 33 is about keeping the forestry industry informed of the latest issues and developments. The displays and exhibits on the pavilion’s lower level will be supported by quality discussion forums on the upper level.

Showcase by North Rhine-Westphalia Forestry Service

The group display that the North Rhine-Westphalia Forestry Service is staging in one of the pavilions beneath EXPO canopy next year will explore innovations for sustainable forest management and focus on the further development and digital integration of work processes across the entire primary wood industry value chain. The main topic highlights include resource efficiency in the use of forestry machines and the development of new digital training systems for operators of forestry machinery.

Energy From Wood

The wood industry uses a lot of energy, so efficiency and cost reduction are key priorities. The good news is that wood industry plant operators can achieve major cost reductions and efficiency gains by generating their own power from their own waste wood, chips and sawdust, and by utilizing waste heat and harnessing cogeneration. The Energy from Wood showcase at LIGNA 2019 will show them how. Located in halls 25 and 26, on the open-air site and in pavilions 32, 33 and 35, the showcase will present technologies that wood-industry manufacturers can use to recover process energy and re-use it for heating and electric generation.

“Firewood Production Line” Showcase

The “Firewood Production Line” showcase will be back in 2019 with another comprehensive line-up of exhibits, demonstrations and guided tours dedicated to renewable energy from wood. The program will span all the latest trends, developments and solutions. That’s everything from firewood processing to furnaces and everything else in between.

LIGNA Forestry Get-together

The Forestry Get-together premiered successfully in 2017 as LIGNA’s primary meeting hub for forestry-industry networking and dialogue and will be back again in 2019. Organized by the German Association of Forestry Contractors (AFL), the LIGNA Forestry Get-together will be staged directly in front of Pavilion 33, under the EXPO canopy.

13th Lower Saxony Crane Driving Championships and 4th Women’s Crane Driving Cup

Among the more spectacular events on the open-air site are the Lower Saxony Crane Driving Championships and the Women’s Crane Driving Cup. Held on the Thursday of LIGNA, they offer a thrilling mix of big-machine mastery, sport and entertainment. These two must-see events are organized by the Lower Saxony School of Forestry, Münchenhof, and the German Association of Forestry Contractors (AFL), with support from Deutsche Messe.

USDA Forest Service Awards Wood Innovation Grants In 20 States

by | May 22, 2018 | News

USDA Forest Service Interim Chief Vicki Christiansen recently announced the award of almost $8 million to expand and accelerate wood products and wood energy markets. The Wood Innovation Grants will stimulate the removal of hazardous fuels from national forests and other forest lands to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, promote forest health, and reduce the cost of forest management. The investment of federal funds will leverage over $13 million in matching funds from 33 business, university, nonprofit, and tribal partners in 20 states for a total investment of over $21 million.

“These Wood Innovation grants advance state-of-the-art solutions to reducing wildfire risk and making our forests healthier and more resilient,” said Forest Service Interim Chief Christiansen. “The public-private partnerships leveraged with these grants also foster increased economic development in rural communities.”

Previous grants supported successful blast testing of cross-laminated timber (CLT) that directly resulted in the Department of Defense using CLT on its on-base hotels; and the funding of a feasibility analysis for a new CLT manufacturing facility to increase the amount of U.S.-made CLT.

This year the Forest Service received 119 proposals, demonstrating the expanding interest in using wood in both traditional and unconventional ways, such as an innovative building material and as a renewable energy source. Since 2005 more than 260 grants have been awarded to improve forest health, create jobs, invest in renewable energy, and support healthy communities.

Of the 34 projects funded in 2018, 28 focus upon expanding markets for wood products, and six seek to increase markets for wood energy. Some examples include utilizing small-diameter woody material in cross laminated timber (CLT) panels, addressing affordable housing in the northeast building market with mass timber, converting woody debris to renewable natural gas for transportation fuel, and using juniper biomass and biochar to filter heavy metals and manage storm water.

Read more on this from the USDA Forest Service at https://www.fs.fed.us/news/releases/usda-forest-service-awards-wood-innovation-grants-expand-and-accelerate-wood-products.

Study: Using Wood For Building And Energy Helps Environment

by | Oct 24, 2016 | News

Wood has a largely favorable environmental effect. A study of the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” recommends using wood more widely as a source of energy and as a building material.

The study examined the overall environmental impact of wood in Switzerland, analyzing the value chain from cutting trees to recycling wood or burning it, including the manufacture of semi-finished products such as paper, boards and pellets for heating purposes. Wood manufacturing is a high profile industry in Switzerland, home to suppliers familiar in the U.S. such as IGP power coating, Michael Weinig machinery, Jowat adhesives, Swiss Chrono laminate panel, and Lamello.

The study indicates that the sustainable use of wood can contribute to meeting our needs in terms of energy and raw materials with a smaller footprint than other resources.

The study estimates that the use of wood in Switzerland leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions of between 2.0 and 3.1 million tons per year – in comparison, Switzerland emitted a total of 52.6 million tons in 2013. Replacing gas or oil with wood accounts for two thirds of the estimated reduction. The last third is linked to construction and furniture production where wood replaces materials with a high carbon footprint such as cement, steel, aluminum and plastics.

Conducted in the context of the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” (NRP 66), the study based its analysis on the one hand on comprehensive statistics of material flows (origin, use and disposal of wood) that were compiled by the federal offices in particular. On the other hand, it referred to several databases evaluating the life cycle of products. “We considered different environmental impacts, in particular in relation to climate change, energy consumption, air pollution and loss of biodiversity”, explains Florian Suter, first author of the study and doctoral student at the Chair of Ecological Systems Design at ETH Zurich.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/using-wood-more-widely-building-and-energy-helps-environment-swiss-researchers?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news

USDA Awards Funds To Grow Wood Energy And Wood Products Markets

by | May 20, 2016 | News

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell today announced over $8.5 million to expand and accelerate technologies and strategies that promote the use of wood in commercial construction, heat and power generation, and other wood product innovations that also benefit forest health. Federal funds will leverage more than $18 million in investments from 42 business, university, nonprofit and Tribal partners in 19 states, for a total investment of $27 million.

“We are looking for opportunities to reduce forest restoration costs and create more jobs through strong forest products markets,” said Chief Tidwell. “This funding supports improving forest health on the National Forest System lands and other forested lands and promotes the economic and environmental well being of rural communities.”

The awarded funds will stimulate the use of hazardous fuels from National Forest System lands and other forested lands to promote forest health while simultaneously generating rural jobs. This year, 77 proposals were received for the Forest Service’s Wood Innovations grant program, highlighting the expanding interest and use of wood as a renewable energy source and as an innovative building material.

Healthy markets for forest products help the nation’s forests mitigate some of the impacts of climate change. Research has demonstrated that wood products from responsibly managed forests outperform other building materials in measures of greenhouse gas intensity, air and water pollution and other environmental impacts. Responsibly-sourced forest products also provide income for private landowners that keep their land forested and supports needed investments in forest management to provide clean water, wildlife habitat, and other resources millions of Americans depend upon.

Today’s announcement supports USDA’s Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry-a comprehensive effort to provide America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners with the tools and resources they need to combat climate change. Through this work, USDA expects to reduce net emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in soils and forests by over 120 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2025-the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road or offsetting the emissions produced by powering nearly 11 million homes each year.

From the USDA: https://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2016/05/0115.xml&contentidonly=true

Study: Wooden Buildings Are Cheaper And Cleaner

by | Apr 24, 2015 | News

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, it would be better if we built buildings from wood than from concrete, brick, aluminum and steel.

We use millions of tons of these modern materials every year. They have many valuable properties, but are energy-intensive to create, accounting for around 16% of the entire planets’ fossil fuel production. Instead we could be using wood, which is also strong, renewable, and plentiful – we use only a fraction of the world’s available forestry resources.

Our research, published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry, estimated that the world’s forests contain about 385 billion cubic meters of wood, with an additional 17 billion cubic meters growing each year. A mere 3.4 billion cubic meters is harvested each year, mostly for subsistence fuel burning; the rest rots, burns in fires, or adds to forests’ density.

Swapping steel, concrete, or brick for wood and specially engineered wood equivalents would drastically reduce global carbon dioxide emissions, fossil fuel consumption and would represent a renewable resource. What’s more, managed properly this can be done without loss of biodiversity or carbon storage capacity.

In our study undertaken by scientists from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the University of Washington’s College of the Environment we evaluated various scenarios including leaving forests untouched, burning wood for energy and use of wood as a construction material.

From Architecture & Design: https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/comment/swap-steel-concrete-and-brick-for-wood-wooden-buil?utm_source=WIT042415&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees