LIGNA 2025 - Focus on Connectivity, Sustainable Production and Industrialised Wood

LIGNA, the world's leading event dedicated to the woodworking industry, is marking its 50th anniversary year with a central promise: connecting people and driving innovation. In the 2025 edition, LIGNA will focus attention on three key themes under which the community will showcase its innovations, solutions, products and services: CONNECTIVITY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION and ENGINEERED WOOD. From digital connectivity to sustainable production and the use of engineered wood, this event looks to cover all key aspects of industrial and environmental evolution.

From May 26 to 30, 2025, LIGNA Hannover will once again be the meeting place for an industry facing three major challenges, from artisanal businesses to industrial clusters: the implementation of full digital networks, the adoption of the circular economy and the development of smart products.

Main topics at LIGNA 2025: CONNECTIVITY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION, ENGINEERED WOOD

"LIGNA 2025 will bring together international solution providers for these three central challenges"says Stephanie Wagner, LIGNA project manager at Deutsche Messe AG. "Exhibiting companies will demonstrate their efforts to advance the full digitization network to all components of the value chain, aiming to create pathways for an ethical economy that produces intelligently designed wood products. Together with the VDMA, we have created a close connection between our topics of interest to simplify identifying your own needs in a complex industry"explains Wagner.

LIGNA.CONNECTIVITY - Automation and digitization of production processes is the key to an economical and sustainable business. Connectivity is the key to the digital future.

Digital connectivity is essential in the modern business era, and those who have successfully implemented digitization of certain process steps now face the challenge of integrating digitization across the entire value chain. However, tackling this challenge at LIGNA 2025, with a focus on finding solutions that enable different systems to interact in an efficient network, appears to be a significant step forward. The availability of connected services, products, processes, infrastructures and value chains directly correlates with higher productivity and efficiency. This in turn leads to increased profits, reduced costs, resource conservation and increased sustainability. With LIGNA.CONNECTIVITY, ideas, concepts, solutions and suppliers in the fields of digitization and connectivity will be highlighted at LIGNA 2025. The aim is to offer solutions to all participants in the wood processing value chain, regardless of their level of digitization.

"The concept of connectivity refers to the process of linking different systems in the wood trade and wood processing industry", explains Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Association, Frankfurt am Main. "LIGNA 2025, with a focus on LIGNA.CONNECTIVITY, aims to find solutions for seamlessly connecting different systems into a value-creating network, rather than forcing all participants to use the same system"adds Dirr.

LIGNA.SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION - An exploration of innovations and best practices to improve business sustainability

The topic of sustainable production demonstrates a real concern for the environmental and social impact of the woodworking industry. Solutions for end-to-end connectivity have been configured and integrated with disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. However it is clear that processes need to become more sustainable to be fit for the future. Prioritizing environmental protection, resource conservation, product processing and marketing, the woodworking industry makes a significant environmental and social contribution. Against this backdrop, the new focus topic SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION brings together economically viable strategies for the wood processing industry that prioritize environmental protection, resource conservation and improved working conditions for future generations. In particular when it comes to timber construction, the industry is making the construction field greener with dedicated products and machinery, for example with production lines for industrial timber house construction in the factory.

"The theme of sustainability is in LIGNA's DNA due to its focus on wood as a renewable material. Our exhibitors at LIGNA showcase their sustainable production potential, from improved forest management to green building, all within the LIGNA central theme. SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION"says Stephanie Wagner

LIGNA.ENGINEERED WOOD - The development of industrialized wood opens up new possibilities in construction and other fields. 

This innovation in composite materials can radically change the way we work with wood and how we use it in various applications. Developments in the green building industry will be the third main topic at LIGNA 2025. LIGNA.ENGINEERED WOOD covers the full range of intelligently engineered wood products transformed into composite materials for a variety of uses. These are building materials made from wood, processed and treated in a way that enhances its properties and performance. They usually consist of layers of wood, fiber or other wood materials that are often bonded together under pressure and heat. This gives them superior strength and stability compared to natural wood. ENGINEERED WOOD's main focus ranges from CNC machines for processing wood panels and beams to automated production lines for manufacturing laminated veneer lumber (CLT) and other solid wood products, as well as robotic systems for assembling wood elements, handling technologies for wood finishing and software for the design and production of solid wood structures.

"As the world's leading trade fair for woodworking, LIGNA has a responsibility to provide a platform where the industry's current challenges can be transformed into opportunities for sustainable growth"says Stephanie Wagner.