The biggest INTERFORST of all times, boasting 75,000 square meters and 453 exhibitors (160 of whom from abroad) met with an exceptionally positive response from all participants. Source: Timberbiz
Exhibitors praised the visitors’ quality and professional expertise. The smooth organization of the trade show was also very well received.
Over the five days of the trade show (July 18-22), more than 50,000 trade visitors attended the event, approximately 1000 more than in 2014.
Foreign numbers levelled off again at 18%.
All exhibitors agreed that the mood in the industry was excellent and willingness to innovate was high.
The unusually strong presence of high-ranking politicians at INTERFORST 2018 was also perceived as very positive by the industry.
“INTERFORST 2018 has impressively shown that we are dealing with a cutting-edge high-tech industry. Digital solutions are gaining ground everywhere in the timber and forestry sector, and forestry enterprises can no longer be imagined without them,” Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Managing Director of Messe München said.
“We, and above all our exhibitors, consider the fact that State Minister Michaela Kaniber spent such a lot of time at INTERFORST and that even Minister-President Markus Söder was among its guests as a sign of great appreciation for the industry.”
The dominating topic at INTERFORST 2018, both for the big machine manufacturers and at the congress, forums and special shows, was ongoing digitalization in the forest. Harvesters, for example, which record data and import them into the accounting system autonomously, were on display and drones providing an overview of the tree population in the forest, of windthrows and pests.
Other important subjects were forest management in harmony with nature with an emphasis on soil conservation as well as the traditional topic of health and safety at work.
The special show “From seedling to squared timber—timber processing chain” mapped the entire value added chain, from seeding to the final product.
The Scientific Congress dealt with the topics of climate change and the use of wood, digitalization and bio-economy. Besides timber harvesting and health and safety at work, forestry 4.0 was one of the major topics of the lectures held at the forums.
