The first-ever Ligna Conference will make its debut at the Hannover Exhibition Center’s Robotation Academy, May 3 and 4.

The conference theme will be “Integrated production in woodworking—the way towards Industry 4.0,” and the event is being organized by Deutsche Messe and the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association. The conference is specifically targeted at decision makers from the woodworking trades and the furniture, building products, interior finishing and timber construction sectors, according to organizers.

“The Industry 4.0 theme we chose for this year’s show resonated very strongly among all the stakeholders, and this encouraged us to launch this new conference for the non-Ligna years,” said Christian Pfeiffer, director of Ligna at Deutsche Messe.

According to Pfeiffer, the two-day conference will explore the intelligent integration of production and logistics processes and the practical benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies for users of woodworking machines. It will also feature real-life case studies that illustrate the wider benefits to the timber and furniture industries of integrated production systems—the ability to manufacture customized products at competitive prices, for instance.

Digitalization not only impacts companies’ production processes, it can also profoundly change their long-term strategies, according to Pfeiffer. That’s why next year’s conference will also take an in-depth look at future business models. In addition, at a range of exhibits at the conference venue, attendees will be able to discuss their individual situation with integrated manufacturing experts.

For more information, visit ligna.de/home.