SCM Group at Xylexpo 2024: A vision "beyond machinery" sparks debate

RDL-Wood Industry News had the opportunity to make an exclusive video (at the end of the article) with SCM Group top management representatives at the company's stand at the Xylexpo 2024 trade fair in Milan. The Italian leader's bold choice to forgo exhibiting physical machinery in favor of an approach focused on complete production flows and digital solutions generated intense discussion among our visitors and readers.

Luigi De Vito, managing director of SCM Group, explained the philosophy behind the stand concept at the press conference on the first day of Xylexpo 2024: "This year we have made a decidedly innovative choice in the way we communicate to our customers. We decided to communicate as a leader [...] offering a stand that actually focuses on the heart of our stand represented by the world of services, the world of software and the world of digital services."

Asked by Wood Magazine how the capabilities of the machines can be demonstrated without their physical presence, Pietro Gheller, director of the Wood Division, said, "The technologies are present on this stand even if they are not present with the machines, but they are present through multimedia supports. [...] We show our customers not just one machine, one solution, but we start by showing our customer's process divided into different applications."

Reactions and opinions

Our previous article on the SCM press conference has attracted a lot of comments, especially from Italian readers, many critical of SCM Group's decision not to exhibit machinery. Loris Damiani, Facebook group administrator Joinery 4.0 warned us (see comment in the post below) that he did not notice the show of force we observed. In his opinion, the smaller firms but present with machinery demonstrated more.

These reactions show that part of the Italian industry still expects a leader like SCM to "bring its best machines" to a trade fair, so that they can be compared with the competition. At the same time, the arguments put forward by SCM representatives about an approach focused on added value for customers are worth considering.

Conclusion

The debate sparked by SCM's atypical presence at Xylexpo 2024 is far from settled. It is clear that the digital transformation of the woodworking industry is advancing and the focus on complete solutions and customer needs is becoming increasingly important. But it remains to be seen to what extent 'disruptive' visions such as SCM will become the rule or the exception at future trade fairs. RDL - Wood Industry News looks forward to hearing readers' views on this topic!

Below are the explanations received from Alessandra Benedetti and Pietro Gheller in a video made by RDL - Wood Industry News at the SCM Group stand at Xylexpo 2024