It was not all ‘doom and gloom’ at the Hannover fair grounds in May as many had expected it to be. The quality of visitors was generally reported to be high – the time-wasters stayed away – and some new projects were discussed and contracts confirmed.
Takeovers also took centre stage at Ligna. On the Friday before the show opened, Dieffenbacher announced its purchase of Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery Co Ltd.
On May 20, the third day of the show, Siempelkamp announced it had purchased German ‘front-end’ machinery maker Hombak.
On the same day, Vits Systems became Vits Technology as former owner Werner Deuring bought the company out of receivership.

The theme for this year’s Ligna exhibition on May 18-22 is
‘efficient resource management’, reflecting the need for energy efficiency and careful resource management as the world faces the challenges of global
warming, let alone the economic challenges facing the industry