This year, the Schmalz group will be present at 50 trade fairs all over the world, including eight in Germany. The "Ligna" – World Trade Fair for Forestry and the Timber Industry, which was held last week in Hanover, is the foremost trade fair in this sector and the company displayed its full product range there.

Particularly in the woodworking industry, the high cost and rationalisation pressures have made the automation of production processes with the aid of vacuum increasingly important. In order to satisfy the specific requirements of the woodworking industry, Schmalz offers a comprehensive range of vacuum components and gripping systems, vacuum handling systems and vacuum clamping systems. The new products Schmalz showed at the Ligna include the new modular vacuum clamping system for CNC woodworking centres with which frame elements and complex, narrow and/or curved workpieces can be clamped flexibly. The vacuum lifting device VacuMaster Window for the flexible and rational handling of glass sheets and complete windows was available on the stand so that visitors could test it for themselves. Large-area vacuum gripping systems permit gripping and lifting of complete layers of sawn wood or the damage-free handling of door frames.

For the Schmalz Group, with 400 employees worldwide, trade fairs have been an important platform for 20 years. "This trade fair, at which we presented ourselves as a leading worldwide partner for vacuum technology in automation, handling and clamping technology, is a very important instrument for maintaining contact with existing customers and winning new customers," said Managing Director Dr. Kurt Schmalz. "The number of visitors and the quality of the contacts this year have exceeded even our highest expectations," said a very satisfied Kurt Schmalz. The stand of J. Schmalz GmbH at the trade fair was visited by persons from more than 40 countries and several sales contracts were signed and sealed on the stand. An improved economical situation in the companies of the wood and plastics industry was clearly noticeable.

In addition to presenting its new products on the stand, Schmalz also held a so-called "Ligna Wood Meeting" for its worldwide marketing partners on the first day of the trade fair. More than 30 participants attended to learn more about current innovations in the world of vacuum technology. Schmalz was thus not only able to win new contacts, but to intensify existing contacts in technical discussions.