The upcoming LIGNA, which runs from 27 to 31 May 2019, is not just a place for discovering the latest innovations, closing deals and networking. As well as its wealth of exhibits from around the world, the trade show features a large number of special showcases for all areas of the wood processing and woodworking industries.

The upcoming LIGNA, which runs from 27 to 31 May 2019, is not just a place for discovering the latest innovations, closing deals and networking. As well as its wealth of exhibits from around the world, the trade show features a large number of special showcases for all areas of the wood processing and woodworking industries.

Next year's show marks the premiere of the LIGNA.FORUM, a presentation forum in Hall 11 that will provide in-depth coverage of the key LIGNA focus themes as well as topical issues relevant to the secondary processing sector. The latter include "Processing of Plastics and Composites", "Smart Surface Treatment" and "Integrated Woodworking – Tailored Solutions" as well as lectures and presentations from science and research. The LIGNA.FORUM will also be the venue for the German Timber Construction Award prize-giving ceremony.

Coverage of "Processing of Plastics and Composites" at next year's show will not be confined to the LIGNA.FORUM. At an information pavilion operated by the University of Stuttgart Institute for Machine Tools (IfW) in Hall 11, visitors can learn about woodworking machinery that cannot only process wood but also plastics, panel products, composite materials and insulation and building materials. For example, the pavilion will feature demonstrations showing the machining of additively manufactured parts.

Scientific Research and Education is a long-standing, popular showcase in Hall 11 where trade schools, polytechnics, technical colleges and universities present their latest R&D findings and projects and provide information on their education and training programs. It has been a fixture at LIGNA for many years and ideally complements the show's plant and machinery exhibits.

Complementing the Scientific Research and Education showcase is the LIGNA.Campus, which features the projects and findings of several research-focused institutions of higher learning. One of the projects on show, the "proto-lab" from Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences, is already attracting great interest. The proto-lab demonstrates the feasibility of an innovative human-machine processing system that can cater not only for high product variability but also greater product complexity. Visitors to the exhibit will learn about key future technologies, including cyber-physical assistance systems, such as collaborative robots, automated guided vehicles and smart worker support technologies.

"Industry 4.0 is just the tip of the iceberg," explained Dr. Andreas Heinzmann from Rosenheim University's Faculty of Wood Technology and Construction. "Ever-increasing market pressure to individualize and digitize means production has to be highly flexible. It also requires a complete re-think of production planning and management processes. In our proto-lab, humans, machines, logistics processes and products all communicate and collaborate with each other in a direct, decentralized fashion. It's about decentralizing traditional management structures and reporting lines while ensuring the optimal, seamless integration of all parts of the value chain, starting with the initial product idea and continuing through development, production, use and maintenance right to the recycling stage.

After last year's successful debut, the LIGNA Training Workshops for joiners, cabinetmakers, carpenters and mobile assemblers are returning to LIGNA in 2019. The LIGNA Training Workshops are an opportunity for exhibitors to give users an in-depth, hands-on experience of their products. The event's motto says it all: "Showing. Doing. Mastering.". Organized by Deutsche Messe with the support of two German joinery industry associations and with GEWEMA AG as commercial partner, the LIGNA Training Workshops will be located in the pavilion in front of Hall 11. Apart from the hands-on training sessions, the event also features a program of lectures on technical matters of relevance to skilled tradespeople.

The German Association of Carpentry and Joinery (Tischler Schreiner Deutschland) will be back in 2019 with a pavilion in Hall 12. The association's members will be able to seek expert advice at the pavilion, which will also feature a "Live Workshop" where Germany's designated contestants in the 2019 WorldSkills competition in Kazan, Russia, will be honing their craft. There will also be an exhibition of the top journeymen's pieces from the 2019 Form & Function competition.

Hall 11 at next year's LIGNA will also be home to an exhibition of the top entries for the 2019 German Timber Construction Award . The award has Horst Seehofer, Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, as its official patron.

As well as being a key showcase for all the latest technologies, LIGNA is the ideal place to learn about the latest trends shaping the woodworking and timber processing industries – for instance, as a participant in one of the LIGNA Guided Tours . Next year's tour themes include "Integrated Woodworking Technologies – Tailored Solutions" and 2019 newcomers "Smart Surface Technologies" and "Sawmill Technology – Innovations and Trends".

On this tour, participants will find out how machines "talk" to one another and learn about the latest processing systems that enable product individualization in both custom and mass production scenarios. They will also be able to see how robotics and automation technology can make their production more efficient.

This tour covers a wide range of surface treatment technologies and processes as well as scanning and quality assurance systems. It also provides insight into different finishing technologies, such as digital and 3D printing, and highlights new sustainable processing options, such as energy and resource efficient adhesives, liquid coating systems and inkjet applications.

Participants on this tour will be introduced to new products and processes designed to optimize the speed, noise level and efficiency of sawmill operations. Highlights here include new energy-saving chipping processes.