“Ligna” 2021 will be held in the fall, postponing its original date from May to 27 September to 1 October 2021. Following intensive deliberations and discussions and in view of current developments in the global infection situation in the wake of the corona pandemic, Deutsche Messe and the VDMA have decided to postpone “Ligna” by around five months next year.

“Due to the ongoing pandemic, increasing restrictions and the renewed lockdown, there is great uncertainty in the market. We take this very seriously,” emphasises Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Messe AG. “The decision to postpone ‘Ligna’ was very difficult for us, but it is the only logical measure to give all those involved planning security and the necessary lead time for preparations. The corresponding hygiene and protection concept is in place, and with the holding of ‘Infa’ now in October, it has also been proven in practice that events in pandemic times can be carried out safely. At the ‘Ligna’, we have to take into account that entire machine parks are designed, assembled and presented in live operation with a long lead time and at great expense. This requires trade fair planning of many months. This can only be achieved in conjunction with a sufficient number of international decision-makers on the visitor side. In order for the “Ligna” as the world’s leading trade fair to do justice to this, both suppliers and users must be given sufficient planning security for participation – and this is significantly higher for September/October than for May 2021″.

The VDMA, as co-organiser of “Ligna”, also sees the postponement of the event date as the only proven means of successfully staging the world’s most important trade fair for the international wood industry in the interests of all participants. “The postponement of ‘Ligna’ is absolutely necessary. For our companies and the customers of the woodworking and processing industry, it is the world’s most important platform,” says Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Association. “The industry needs this marketplace. With the ‘Ligna’ in September 2021, we want to send a signal for new beginnings that will trigger new impulses and investments in the global market.