Ligna lifts spirits

The aisles of Hall 27, where the vast majority of suppliers to this industry were located, were never really packed, but all the exhibitors were very happy with the quality of visitors to their stands and said that they had enjoyed many meaningful discussions. In some cases, these resulted in orders on the day.

The big news on the Siempelkamp stand was actually 'smaller news' as the company launched its 'Dragon Press' - a four-feet-wide version of its famous ContiRoll continuous hot press for panel production.

The press was 100% designed in Krefeld but will be 100% built in Wuxi, China, at Siempelkamp's factory. Unusually, this 4ft press can produce boards as thin as 2mm and up to 40mm, due to its special infeed.

It will be offered in three lengths: 32, 38 and 48m, with ProdIQ data management. "Thus we guarantee 30% more capacity than our competitors at those lengths," said a spokesman.

Having introduced the EcoResinator for MDF at Ligna 2011, Siempelkamp launched the EcoResinator P for particleboard this year, offering a 10% reduction in glue consumption; and unbroken particles. The company also announced its Steam Booster mat pre-heater for a 30% higher output; a new wind former for surface layers; and the KT700 short cycle press with good in-register embossing capability.

Another German firm, Wemhöner, launched two new developments. Its main focus was on digital printing directly onto the wood surface and the second was its inline press for continuous pressing of hollow core doors and lightweight panels. The latter uses microwave energy to cure the actual glue lines, so the finished panel emerges cold. Wemhöner also promoted a new line for melamine laminating with in-register embossed technology.

German saw maker Holzma showed a new de-stacking concept to radically improve workflow, a new dust extraction system, dustEX, and a fully-automatic re-cut system. Electronics specialist GreCon launched its new corporate image design, with smaller, closely targeted, brochures. Having presented a new spark extinguishing system in 2011, GreCon added functionality for 2013, including an ultra-high-speed valve to reduce system reaction time and length of piping. It also launched upgrades to many of its on-the-line measuring devices.

Vits, manufacturer of paper impregnation lines, emphasised three main points at the show: A system that it says reduces waste by 95% in registered embossing with a cutto- mark system; Vits Scattering Device to enable the use of corundum of different sizes; and the Highline impregnation line to "double your output". The three companies under the same ownership, Vits, IFA and Deurowood presented the way they all work together to offer a full service.

Complete line supplier Dieffenbacher offered several innovations and introduced the next generation of the owning family.

Electronic Wood Systems of Hameln, Germany, arranged its now traditional visit from the Pied Piper on the Thursday. Company founder Hans-Peter Kleinschmidt said that EWS had sold four of its quality control systems to Kronospan on the first day of Ligna and has also been very successful with sales to Georgia-Pacific in the US in the last six months. He said that the use of three weight-per-unit-area gauges to control the three layers of particleboard forming had given very accurate mat forming.

Brand new from EWS was an inline measuring system for evaluating the panel geometry of boards, called 'Dimension-Scan'. The company also introduced a new generation of laboratory density analyser and launched its new spark detection system.

Stainless steel belt and press plate maker Sandvik launched the QuickAnnealer at the show, to complement the QuickDisc belt patching tool. This gives the weld a hardness much closer to the steel belt itself. Sandvik also launched the QuickCleaner to blast the belt with baking soda granules which are removed by vacuum, on the press.

German company Minimax celebrated 40 years of spark extinguishing, offering sprinkler, deluge, foam, hydrant and Minifog water mist systems.

The big news from Kleiberit was its HotCoating Technology for high-gloss panel finishing in collaboration with Barberàn's coating machinery. The same system can also produce super-matt finishes.

BINOS presented a model of its improved scalper system, in combination with the Dieffensor, and located after the pre-press in particleboard and MDF lines.

Intec Engineering reported that it is investing a lot in R&D in its complete energy systems and announced its new fluidised bed combustion system with ash cooling and recirculation.

Anthon of Flensburg presented its complete panel sawing systems including feeding, stacking and sorting systems.

Modul Systeme reported a good response to its advertisement in WBPI's Ligna issue offering a pre-owned MDF forming and press line and said it had also had a lot of interesting meetings during Ligna.

Saxlund of Germany offers turnkey fibre/particle and dust transport systems, with all methods of transportation, and is a specialist in silo discharge systems.

Austrian Steel belt and press plate maker Berndorf Band presented its mobile training centre on its vineyard-themed stand - and its steel belt management software - and reported success in direct embossing on a steel belt for embossed-in-register finishes.

Hülsemann of Germany offers graphite and sanding technology and says it is going to the particleboard market with some new, revolutionary, products as it has developed a new graphite coated cloth backing for sanding belts. It doesn't make abrasives as such. Hülsemann produces its own graphite cloth and says it is one of only two worldwide.

Logyard specialist Holtec announced its new partnership with Dieffenbacher in the Logyard Alliance, having signed the contract the Friday before Ligna opened. This is intended to give a complete solution from the log to the finished board.

New from Holtec at the show was its own debarking system, the Vario Barker.

Andritz of Austria promoted its complete front-end competence including its famous refiners for MDF production.

Also from Austria, Scheuch celebrated 50 years in the air and exhaust gas cleaning business. New for Ligna 2013 was the Modern Plant Climate Management system to integrate the systems throughout the factory to give higher standards of environmental quality and productivity, using the company's SABA, SENA and SEKA systems.

Saw system maker Schelling offered a new approach to batch size-1 cutting and some new software systems.

Another company with an anniversary to celebrate this year was Biele of Spain. This supplier of presses and handling equipment is now 40 years old. A major current project for Biele is a complete new factory in Romania for which it is supplying the pressing, finishing and packing lines to make a five-layer board faced with MDF/HDF and veneer. Start-up is due in Q1, 2014. Biele also supplied a complete door line to Masonite in the US this year. It is also working with Argos Solutions in automated state-of-the-art plywood veneer repair systems.

Chimar Hellas of Greece returned to Ligna this year and reported very good meetings about its resin technology offerings.

Yet another anniversary - and the oldest birthday - was celebrated by Canadian company Carmanah. It formed an alliance with Dieffenbacher earlier this year to supply its disc and ring stranding technology to Dieffenbacher OSB lines. At Ligna, Carmanah was displaying a SmartRing 28x88 unit.

From the US came USNR, offering plywood and LVL production lines from debarking to peeling, conditioning, laser centring, drying, patching and sorting.

M-E-C, the US dryer company, reported good contacts at the show and said that the company has diversified into the pellet business with considerable success.

Meanwhile, Globe Machine launched a new panel scanning system at Ligna, developed with its partner Camsensor, for plywood face grading, automation of panel repair and high-speed panel edge defect detection, as well as MDF face grading.

Also from the US was Wilvaco, promoting its decorative coatings, defect repair systems, automatic veneer patching and robotic veneer repair applications.

Ventek of the US had its new green end Multi-Point Diverter System to promote. This removes the trash from veneer trimming lines and sorts the veneer into different grades.

Elliott Bay reported good business for its veneer moisture detection systems.

Fezer of Brazil said it had made lots of contacts at the show, from all over the world, and that there are a lot of plywood manufacturing projects around, which is better than for several years for this plywood and veneer machinery specialist.

Also from Brazil, and in a similar business, came Omeco which also reported a lot of good contacts for its complete plywood manufacturing lines.

Kingfisher Industrial of the UK was at Ligna looking for more international opportunities to sell its ceramic wearresistant lining systems and cyclones.

Metso of Sweden reported having sold three defibrator lines in 2013 at the time of the exhibition. New at the show was the PeriVapor, which, says Metso, can remove the need for fresh steam to the pre-steaming bin, thus reducing fresh steam consumption by up to 50% and so saving money.

Firefly, also of Sweden, promoted its new generation of fire protection systems, EXIMIO.

From Finland came Raute, whose fortunes have improved a lot this year. The company has a large project in hand for Arauco in Chile as it rebuilds its fire-damaged Nueva Aldea plywood mill. Raute is also currently installing a 500,000m3/year plywood line for CMPC in Chile and an LVL line for Pollmeier in Germany, among other contracts.

Plytec of Finland offers veneer patching, scarf-jointing, lay-up lines and conveyors and often works closely with Elliott Bay.

Cross Wrap, also of Finland, exhibited its plastic film wrapping system which wraps horizontally and vertically in a continuous cycle for panel packs, replacing cardboard, cover boards and strapping and thus saving money on packaging.

Steinemann of Switzerland exhibited its wide-belt sanders, including the new Satos eco, and presented its relationship with Argos Solutions of Norway in surface defect monitoring.

New on the stand of Sia of Switzerland was the 2728 TopTec silicon carbide belt, which one customer said meant his sander pulled less amps.

Imal-Pal of Italy had a 700m2 stand at Ligna and managing director Loris Zanasi said the company had taken orders worth €6.6m in the first three days; by the end of the show that total had risen to €8m. He said the company had offers out for 60 complete panel plants utilising the continuous press that Imal-Pal is able to offer with its Chinese partner. Newest group member Globus was also on the stand, exhibiting its knife-ring flaker with wobble-spreader. This is the largest in the world, said Fabio Paron, founder of Globus, with a 690mm ring.

On the 'Italian Piazza' in Hall 27, sander manufacturer Imeas, handling equipment maker EMG and conveying specialist Trasmec, all reported good meetings and a lot of interest in their respective products.

Trasmec reported that Trasmec (Suzhou) Conveying Systems Co Ltd had started business in December 2012 in China and moved into new workshop premises in May 2013. This adds to the company's factory base, as it already had a factory in Romania as well as its main base in Italy.

Meanwhile, EMG's factory in Brazil (EMG do Brasil) is doing very good business.

Longoni srl supplies decorative laminates and laminated particleboard worldwide and, in 2012, supplied a complete HPL line to Russia, from resin to finished board.

Another Italian company, Cermat, which refurbishes worn machinery such as refiners, screw conveyors, chippers etc, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012 and opened a new factory in Italy, which enables it to refurbish the biggest machine parts as it has two overhead cranes, each of 15 tonne capacity.

Instalmec said this was its best Ligna for 10 years and that it had signed two contracts at the show - one for Russia and one for western Europe. The company launched two new products: a complete OSB preparation line, from woodyard to forming; and an improved fibre sifter for MDF.

Huntsman, which makes MDI resin, as well as having a stand at the show held conferences on two days to "investigate its collaboration with panel manufacturers to improve product performance and address health & safety issues".

Resin supplier Momentive Specialty Chemicals was focusing on low emissions to meet F**** and CARB phase 2 standards. The company offers modified MUF and MUPF resin systems for the panel production and decor paper impregnation industry.

Momentive also offers phenol formaldehyde, and edgebanding, resins.