mt_special_01_2019_issuu

PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR MANUFACTURERS OF KITCHENS, CABINET, OFFICE AND SEATING FURNITURE AND FOR INTERIOR FITTERS AND DESIGNERS · WWW.MATERIAL-TECHNIK.DE · 30835 

The magazine for furniture production and related fields 

special 01|19 

Quality Inside

Round-the-clock 

promotion! 

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calendar from material+technik 

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The calendar is an optimal planning tool 

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them will be inserted in the 07|2019 issue 

of material+technik möbel. 

Be part of this fantastic promotion 

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For more information about placement options for ads, please contact: 

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Quality Inside 

Scoring points with the right 

products in Europe 

Richard Barth, Editor-in-chief. 

Photo: Richter 

Globalisation and digitialization have led to a widening 

of global trade flows. Today, furniture and 

other furnishings are sold even in the remotest 

regions of the world. In order to operate successfully 

in the target markets, the furniture 

manufacturer must not only be able to offer a 

competitive product, but also be well informed 

about the sales market. 

Based on more than 40 years of experience in 

the furniture industry, the German supplier magazine 

material+technik möbel publishes the 

special “Quality Inside – made in Europe” every 

year. The trade magazine is a useful export guide 

for producers of furnishings in all regions of the 

world, providing a key to Western European 

markets. 

On the following pages, “Quality Inside – made 

in Europe” provides up-to-the-minute and indepth 

information about the furnishing market in 

Europe. Data and forecasts on the economic development 

are published in English and the 

latest material and colour trends in the furnishing 

segment are shown. In addition, machine 

technologies for small and large companies are 

presented that enable automated and efficient 

production of home and upholstered furniture. 

In combination with high-quality surfaces and 

fittings from Western Europe, furnishings can 

be produced that meet the growing demands of 

European consumers for quality and indivi duality. 

Supplied products “made in Europe” are internationally 

regarded as products of first choice, 

as European manufacturers reproduce woods, 

stones and metals in a highly authentic manner 

and equip fittings with sophisticated functions. 

In May, the more than 74,000 international visitors 

to the German supplier fair interzum, which 

is regarded as the world’s leading trade fair in 

this field and only takes place every two years, 

were able to see for themselves. With their qualitative 

features, the supplier products make a 

decisive contribution to enhancing the value of 

furnishings and offer consumers added value 

that can be used to trigger purchasing impulses. 

Content 

Title: With the Inline Colour Measurement 

System (ICMS) from IPAC an inline tool is 

available for the first time, which allows an 

objective evaluation of multi-coloured surfaces 

and which is used since some months 

in the production of digitally printed plastic 

edge bandings. 

Photo: Ipac 

Editorial 3 

External factors unsettle the European economy 4–7 

Germany and Italy remain main production countries 8–9 

Individualisation through material mix 10–12 

Competence in adhesives and coatings 13 

Authentic surfaces and “invisible” fittings 14–16 

Customized drawers 17 

New, durable wrapping foil qualities 17 

Surface specialists are repositioning themselves 18–19 

Technologies for businesses both big and small 20–21 

First inline colour measurement in operation 22–23 

Automation and high-tech materials for the upholstered furniture industry 24–25 

European fair calendar 26 

MoOD becomes Decosit once more 26 

Proposte with a new date 26 

Partners to the furniture industry 27 

Index of advertisers 27 

Imprint 27 

material+technik möbel – special 01|19 3


External factors 

unsettle the 

European economy 

Over summer, the tide has turned in Europe. After an encouraging 

economic development in the previous year, the first 

months of 2019 saw the first storm clouds gathering. Meanwhile, 

external factors overshadow further growth in the 

European Union and visibly dampen the mood in industry. 

When the European Union (EU) 

was founded in 1961, there were 

only six countries involved. Since 

Croatia joined in 2013, a total of 28 

states now belong to this economic 

community, however only 19 

have the Euro as their official currency. 

The Euro is used each day by 

around 341 million people and is 

thus the second most frequently 

used currency in the world. EU 

member states such as the United 

Kingdom and Denmark have retained 

their own currency, however. 

The remaining seven countries 

will take on the Euro as soon as the 

required prerequisites are fulfilled. 

4 material+technik möbel – special 01|19 

External factors 

The most important driver of 

growth in the European Union (EU) 

in 2019 is domestic demand and 

here in particular, private household 

consumption. However, for 

some time, the mood has been 

characterised by uncertainty. On 

top of the unclear situation in the 

United Kingdom, where the idea of 

Brexit (the withdrawal of the state 

from the EU) is still being fought 

over, there was also a governmental 

crisis in Italy in August. There, 

the Prime Minister resigned in the 

middle of August so that there will 

either be a new government 

formed or new elections in autumn 

at the latest. At the editorial deadline, 

it looked like a new government 

could form. However, based 

on the unclear political situation, 

economic experts expect purchasing 

restraint by consumers and 

negative effects on private consumption. 

The Ifo-Institut (Germany) also see 

this occurring in the event of a hard 

Brexit, meaning without a trade 

agreement. According to a study by 

the economic research institute, 

this would result in the level of 

prosperity falling, to the greatest 

extent in Ireland by 8.16 per cent. 

For the United Kingdom, the institute 

calculated a reduction of 2.76 

per cent. The real earnings in Germany 

would fall by 0.72 per cent 

and in France by 0.52 per cent. In 

the smaller EU states, the reductions 

would be between 0.35 and 

1.64 per cent. The institute views 

the effects on the rest of the world 

as rather low. 

The uncertainty over the political 

development in the United Kingdom 

and in Italy could also influence 

the economic development in 

the whole of Europe. The trade dispute 

between the USA and China 

as well as between the USA and 

the EU is also causing headaches 

for companies in western Europe. 

They fear that America’s punitive 

tariffs and the Chinese countermeasures 

will make exports into 

this country more difficult over the 

next while. 

For the reasons mentioned above, 

over recent months, the leading 

economic institutes have scaled 

back their forecasts of economic 

development in the European Union 

over the last few months. In 

Germany, a significant slowing 

down of the economic development 

was recorded in the middle of 

the year, meaning that in summer, 

the economic forecasts were adjusted 

downwards for a second 

time. 

In their summer forecast for 2019 

across the whole EU (28 states), 

the European Commission only ex-


Various negative factors 

overshadow the economic 

development of the EU. 

Photo: Fotolia.com/ 

ViennaFrame 

pected a growth of 1.4 per cent, in 

the Eurozone (19 member states 

with the Euro as their official currency) 

even only as much as 1.2 per 

cent. For 2020, the expectations 

had even lowered when compared 

to earlier forecasts and are only 1.4 

per cent for the Eurozone and 1.6 

per cent for the whole European 

Union. The low oil prices and the 

weaker economic prospects mean 

that the experts are also predicting 

lower inflation which should be at 

1.3 per cent in the Eurozone in 2019 

and 2020, and at 1.5 to 1.6 per cent 

in the whole EU. 

Positive development in 

housing construction 

The development of housing construction 

plays an important role for 

the furniture sector. Moving into a 

new flat or home usually goes 

hand-in-hand with the purchase of 

new furniture. The connection between 

housing construction and 

the purchase of furniture is especially 

high in the kitchen area, as, 

unlike living furniture, the previous 

kitchen furnishings usually do not 

fit into the new space. 

In the whole of the EU, housing 

construction has experienced a 

very positive development over recent 

years. The European research 

and consulting network Euroconstruct 

expects the number of completed 

homes to increase by one 

quarter to 1.77 million units in the 

period between 2017 and 2020. In 

2019, the growth should amount to 

3.3 per cent and a new record high 

should be achieved with 1.774 million 

completions. 1.773 million 

units are forecast for 2020. At the 

same time, Euroconstruct notes 

significant differences in the 

growth dynamics in individual 

countries, which relate to statespecific 

support measures. Since 

1974, Euroconstruct has regularly 

been observing and analysing the 

Of the 28 member 

states of the EU, 

19 belong to the 

so-called Eurozone and 

use the Euro as their 

official currency. 

Photo: Fotolia.com/ 

petri 

construction sector development 

in 15 western European countries 

and four eastern European countries. 

In the following, we will present 

the economic development and 

forecasts of leading economic institutes 

for selected member 

states and regions in western Europe. 

The individual states contribute 

to a greater or lesser extent 

to the economic performance 

of the European Union, 

based on their size, population 

and economic potential. With a 

proportion of over 21 per cent, 

Germany is the country with the 

greatest economic performance 

in the community, followed by 

the United Kingdom, France, Italy 

and Spain. 

Germany: In Germany, the biggest 

economic power in the EU, the dynamics 

in the economy have 

slowed down in summer 2019. In 

the second quarter, the gross domestic 

product (GDP) even dropped 

slightly compared to the previous 

year. Compared to the same period 

of the previous year, the GDP has 

stagnated in the first six months. 

Accordingly, the leading economic 

institutes have lowered their forecasts 

once more. At the beginning 

of the year, they had already scaled 

back their forecasts from 1.8 per 

cent to 1 per cent. 

The IfW Kiel (Institute for the World 

Economy) expects a GDP growth 

of 0.6 per cent for 2019. The federal 

government expects 0.5 per cent. 

In 2018, the German economy 

grew by 1.5 per cent. The forecasts 

for 2020 are more optimistic, 

where the economic experts of the 

IfW expect a growth of 1.6 per cent. 

The IMF (International Monetary 

Fund) even forecast 1.7 per cent 

growth. The economic experts give 

the reason for this as the increasing 

private consumption in Germany 

and the continuing low unemployment 

rate of 3 per cent. The moderate 

increase in consumer prices 

should also have a positive effect. 

These are supposed to have increased 

by only 1.4 and 1.5 per cent 

in 2019. In 2018, they increased by 

1.9 per cent. 

Over the course of the year, however, 

there emerged a reduction in 

readiness to invest in new homes. 

According to statements from the 

statistics authority Destatis, the 



Photo: European Parliament 

number of building approvals in 

Germany in the first half of 2019 

dropped by 2.3 per cent compared 

to the period in the previous year. 

The construction of only 164,600 

homes was approved. Building approvals 

for two-family dwellings 

(-4.7%) and multiple-family dwellings 

(-3.2%) were affected above 

all. The number of building approvals 

for single-family dwellings remained 

close to the number for the 

previous year, according to the German 

statistics authority. Based on 

the reduction in approvals, experts 

predict a further reduction in housing 

construction activities. In the 

overall year 2018, the construction 

of 347,000 homes was approved, 

which was a slight reduction of 0.3 

per cent compared to 2017. At the 

same time, a total of 285,914 

homes were completed in the reporting 

year, which is a slight increase 

of 0.4 per cent compared to 

the previous year. In 2018, the construction 

of homes in multiple-family 

dwellings increased (+9.2%), 

while the completion of homes in 

single-family dwellings decreased 

by 3.7 per cent. 

France: As the third most important 

national economy in the European 

Union, France was able to increase 

its GDP in 2018 by 1.7 per 

cent, and the experts are predicting 


a further growth of 1.4 per cent for 

2019. The forecasts for economic 

growth in 2020 are just as high. The 

positive economic development 

will also further reduce the unemployment 

rate, which was still at 

9.1 per cent in 2018. A reduction to 

8.3 per cent is predicted by 2020. A 

reduction in consumer prices of 2.1 

per cent in 2018 to 1.4 per cent in 

2020 could also encourage French 

consumption. In France, housing 

construction is also continuing to 

develop positively. According to 

statements from Euroconstruct, 

the number of completions in 2018 

rose to 400,000 homes, an increase 

of almost 7 per cent. In 2019 

it is expected to become 417,000 

before the number of completions 

is then supposed to decline to 

408,000 in 2020. 

Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands): 

In both Benelux states, the 

economic dynamics are slowing. 

Above all, this can be seen in the 

Netherlands, where the GDP 

should only increase by 1.8 per cent 

this year and in the coming year. In 

2018, the growth amounted to 2.6 

per cent. In Belgium, IfW Kiel expects 

a stable economic development. 

After 1.4 per cent growth in 

2018, the current and following 

years are expected to see a growth 

of 1.4 and 1.3 per cent respectively. 

The consumer prices are expected 

to grow by 1.8 per cent, while in the 

Netherlands, they are expected to 

grow by 2.3 per cent in 2019. In 

2020, the upward trend of prices 

will supposedly reduce to around 

1.8 per cent. A consistent or slightly 

declining rate of unemployment 

may encourage private consumption. 

The Euroconstruct experts view 

the housing construction activity as 

positive in the Netherlands. Here, 

the construction of 68,000 homes 

in 2019 and 74,000 homes in 2020 

is expected. This would be a clear 

increase compared to 2016, when 

the number of completed homes 

was just under 55,000. With Euroconstruct 

anticipating a decline in 

completions to just under 48,000 

units, the forecasts for Belgium are 

just the contrary. However, in 2019, 

a significantly higher number of 

homes is expected to be built than 

in the previous years. In contrast to 

2016, the number of completions is 

9.5 per cent higher. 

United Kingdom: The United Kingdom 

contribute around 15.1 per 

cent to the economic performance 

in the EU and are thus the second 

greatest economic power in the 

Union. Officially, the United Kingdom 

want to withdraw from the EU 

on 31 October after several postponements, 

and thus carry out the 

long-planned Brexit. At the editorial 

deadline, it was unclear whether 

there would be no deal, or whether 

the state would enter into a trade 

agreement with the European Union. 

In any case, experts anticipate 

economic consequences for the 

United Kingdom, but also for the 

European states. At the same time, 

the state is split by the discussion 

as, for example, the majority of 

Scots are in favour of remaining in 

the EU and are now demanding 

their country’s independence. 

Problematic here is the situation for 

Ireland, which will remain in the 

EU, while the northern part of the 

island is part of the United Kingdom 

and will therefore leave the EU. An 

external border of the EU would 

therefore run across the island and 

thus make border controls necessary, 

which would lead to unrest 

among the population. This problem 

will supposedly be solved by a 

“backstop” arrangement, which 

would permit unrestricted trade on 

the island of Ireland. The arrangement 

intends for the United Kingdom 

to remain in the customs union 

with the EU until a permanent 

solution is found for Northern Ireland, 

which makes border controls 

unnecessary. However, the Prime 

Minister, Boris Johnson, who was


newly appointed in June, rejects 

such a backstop arrangement and 

wants to remove the agreement 

from the exit deal. He fears that the 

United Kingdom will remain tied to 

the EU for a long period of time if 

both parties cannot reach an agreement. 

On the other hand, the representatives 

of the European Union 

want the arrangement to avoid the 

possibility of goods flowing into the 

EU in an uncontrolled manner. Economic 

experts believe that if the 

state leaves without an agreement 

(“no-deal Brexit”), this would lead 

to reduced investments by companies, 

falling exports due to increased 

trade barriers and a loss of 

value of the British currency. According 

to experts, the gross domestic 

product is to drop by around 

2 per cent by 2020. Up until now, 

they had believed the British economy 

could grow by 1.8 and 1.5 per 

cent respectively in 2019 and also 

2020. As before, the housing construction 

figures are going upwards. 

After the number of completions 

from 2018 lightly increased 

to around 177,000 homes, the Euroconstruct 

network expect a further 

increase for 2019 by 11 per cent to 

182,000 newly constructed homes. 

In 2020 it is supposed to be as 

many as 188,000 units. 

Italy: Not merely due to the new 

governmental crisis, the country is 

the problem child in the European 

Union. It is the fourth largest economic 

nation in the EU, and at the 

The withdrawal of the United 

Kingdom agreed for the end of 

October is unsettling the 

European economy. 

Photo: Fotolia.com/ tanaonte 

same time, the country with the 

highest debt. In terms of absolute 

figures, no country in the EU is 

more in debt than Italy. Greece only 

has greater debt than Italy in terms 

of the rate. The prospects are also 

not very bright. Over the year so far, 

there have only been small indications 

of the economy reviving. For 

2019, the IMF and the EU Commission 

expect a growth of a mere 0.1 

per cent. The situation may only improve 

in 2020, meaning that the 

forecasts here predict an economic 

growth of 0.6 per cent. The level of 

unemployment here remains one 

of the highest in Europe and persists 

at 10.1 per cent. The consumer 

prices should further drop and increase 

by only 0.8 per cent in 2020 

after an increase of 1.3 per cent. 

Low-level growth is also seen in 

housing construction. In 2018, the 

number of completed homes only 

grew by 3 per cent to around 

83,000 units. For 2019, experts also 

anticipate only a low increase to 

just under 85,000 completions. In 

2020, this should be just under 

87,000 homes. 

Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, 

Norway, Finland): In the four 

northern countries, the economic 

development is rather varied. As 

EU member states, Denmark, 

Sweden and Finland contribute 6 

per cent to the economic performance 

of the community. While in 

Finland, after a growth of 2.1 per 

cent in 2018, the economy is only 

supposed to increase by 1.3 or 1.2 

per cent, the IfW Kiel is anticipating 

Denmark having a greater increase 

in economic performance in 2019 

than in 2018. After 1.2 per cent, the 

GDP is to increase by 2 per cent in 

the current year. In 2020, the forecast 

is 1.5 per cent. In Sweden, almost 

the same level of GDP growth 

is expected, meaning that for this 

year and next year, a 2.3 and 2.1 per 

cent increase are forecast. In Norway, 

which is not a member of the 

EU, 2019 is expected to be a record 

year. According to the forecast, the 

GDP should increase by between 2 

and 2.6 per cent. The experts are 

also optimistic for 2020, where the 

forecasts range from 2.5 to 3 per 

cent. In 2018, the country was able 

to expand its economic performance 


The development of housing construction 

is also broken down. 

While experts in Denmark in particular 

expect a clear increase to 

25,500 in this year and 27,000 next 

year, the three other countries are 

expected to suffer a decline in completions. 

After 40,000 more homes 

were built in Finland in 2018, the 

number of anticipated homes by 

2020 will drop to 31,000. 

In Norway, the number of home 

completions between 2016 and 

2018 increased by almost 27 per 

cent to 37,300 units, however this 

number is supposed to drop to 

33,000 homes by 2020. In Sweden, 

things look similar. Here, the number 

of newly built living units increased 

from 2016 to 2018 by almost 

40 per cent to just under 

75,000. Here, only 73,700 in 2019 

and in the following year, just under 

70,000 homes are predicted to be 

completed. 

Austria: After a GDP growth of 2.7 

per cent, Austria is expected to 

have significantly weaker economic 

dynamics over this year and next 

year. The growth should amount to 

just 1.3 per cent in 2019 and 1 per 

cent in the following year. With an 

almost unchanged rate of unemployment 

between 4.6 and 4.9 per 

cent, the economic experts at the 

IfW Kiel anticipate a drop in consumer 

prices. While these only 

gained 2.1 per cent in 2018, this 

year and next year there is a forecast 

increase of 1.4 and 1.3 per 

cent. 

In Austria in 2019, the completion 

of around 53,000 homes is expected, 

which would be a growth of 1 

per cent compared to the previous 

year. However, the experts only expect 

an insignificant increase for 

2020 with 53,700 completed 

homes. 

Greece: The economic recovery of 

the country is making further progress. 

After the GDP grew in 2018 

by 1.9 per cent, the IMF expects 2.4 

per cent in the current year. IfW Kiel 

is more restrained and expects only 

an increase of 1.3 and 2.0 per cent 

for this year and next year respectively. 

The economy shrunk continually 

over many years. The more 

positive economic development is 

reflected not least in the declining 

unemployment. In 2017 it was at almost 

21 per cent, so in 2019, a further 

reduction of the rate to 17.6 per 

cent is expected. In 2020, it is to 

amount to a mere 15.7 per cent. 

However, the economic recovery 

may cause the prices to increase, 

which means that consumer prices 

are anticipated to increase by up to 

1 per cent. 

The housing construction situation 

in Greece is also moving upwards 

again, although the number of 

building approvals remains under 

the numbers from before the global 

economic and financial crisis. After 

13,800 units in 2017, the number of 

building approvals increased in 

2018 to 15,200 homes. However, 

according to the Greek Office for 

Statistics, the figures for the first 

five months 2019 were only insignificantly 

above those for the period 

in the previous year. Before the 

crisis, the number of building approvals 

was up to 80,000 homes 

per year. 

Spain: After the long economic crisis, 

the Spanish economy is on a 

course of recovery. After a GDP 

growth of 2.6 per cent in 2018, the 

country is forecast to experience 

an increase of 2.4 per cent and 2 

per cent over the coming year and 

the year after. This will also lower 

the high rate of unemployment 

from 15.3 per cent in 2018 to a forecast 

12.5 per cent in 2020. The 

moderate increase in consumer 

prices, which were at 1.7 per cent in 

2018, and should be 1.2 and 1.4 per 

cent in 2019 and 2020, may boost 

private consumption. 

The increasing number of building 

approvals indicates the sustainable 

economic recovery of the country. 

After the number of home completions 

climbed from 40,000 to 

around 70,000 units in the period 

2016 to 2018, Euroconstruct expects 

a further increase to 80,000 

in 2019 and 90,000 homes in the 

year after. Richard Barth 



Germany and Italy remain main 

production countries 

Germany and Italy are Western Europe’s largest furniture producing countries. Both countries account for 

around 9 percent of global production turnover and account for around 40 percent of furniture production 

in Europe. At the same time, the region accounted for 26 percent of global furniture production in 2018. 

The market research institute CSIL 

(Italy) estimates global furniture 

production for 2018 at around 460 

billion dollars (approx. 420 billion 

euros). Furniture manufacturers in 

Europe account for 26 percent of 

this figure. Around 54 percent are 

manufactured in the Asia-Pacific region, 

with China alone accounting 

for around 39 percent. CSIL estimates 

the share of America at 17 

percent and that of the Middle East 

and Africa at 3 percent. 

According to the European Furniture 

Industries Confederation 

(EFIC), there are almost 120,000 

furniture producers in Europe employing 

around one million people. 

EFIC puts the turnover of these 

companies at around 100 billion euros, 

with German producers, followed 

by Italian companies, making 

the largest contribution. 

Germany: weakening demand 

In Germany, the structure of the furniture 

industry has consolidated in 

recent years and the number of furniture 

factories with more than 50 

employees has fallen by 18 percent 

since 2005. The industry currently 

employs around 85,000 people. 

According to the Association of the 

German Furniture Industry (VDM), 

in 2018 the German furniture industry 

was able to achieve a turnover 

of almost 18 billion euros and thus 

slightly exceed the previous year’s 

result by 0.6 percent. However, 

since sales had fallen slightly in the 

previous year, the result was the 

same as in 2016. 32.4 percent of 

sales were generated from exports. 

The slight increase in turnover was 

due to the positive development in 

the kitchen and office segments. 

Both achieved sales of EUR 4.9 billion 

and EUR 2.2 billion, respectively, 

and thus contributed a total of 40 

percent to industry sales. With a 

share of 40 percent, however, the 

“other furniture” segment (living 

room, dining room and bedroom 

furniture, small pieces of furniture, 

non-upholstered seating furniture, 

furniture components, etc.) is the 

largest single segment, with sales 

of 7.1 billion euros in 2018. The turnover 

of the manufacturers of shop 

and contract furniture amounted to 

2 billion euros, upholstered furniture 

achieved a turnover of 920 million 

euros and mattresses 780 million 

euros. 

While furniture exports increased 

by 2.2 percent to 10.9 billion euros, 

imports declined slightly by 0.7 percent. 

At 12.7 billion euros, however, 

they exceeded exports, resulting 

in a foreign trade deficit of 1.8 

billion euros. The purely arithmetical 

furniture consumption is 19.8 

billion euros. More than a quarter of 

all imported furniture came from 

Poland in 2018. 

Minus expected in 2019 

Following the positive development 

in 2018, the German furniture 

industry did not make a successful 

start to the current year. According 

to information from the industry association 

VDM (Verband der 

deutschen Möbelindustrie), companies 

suffered a decline in sales of 

1.8 percent to 8.9 billion euros in 

the first half of 2019. However, the 

individual product segments developed 

differently: kitchen furniture 

manufacturers increased by 1.4 

percent to around 2.5 billion euros, 

the office furniture industry even increased 

its sales by 1.6 percent to 

around 1.1 billion euros. Manufacturers 

of shop furniture and other 

contract furniture were 1.4 percent 

up on the previous year and 

achieved sales of around 910 million 

euros. Manufacturers of upholstered 

furniture registered a decline, 

with sales from January to 

June 2019 falling by 3 per cent to 

around EUR 470 million. The sales 

trend for other furniture (residential 

furniture and furniture components) 

was also more negative than 

the industry average at minus 5.4 

percent to EUR 3.5 billion. Sales in 

the mattress industry also declined. 

Their turnover fell by 4.2 percent 

to around 390 million euros. 

Germany: Top 10 furniture supplying countries 2018 (in billion euros/change 2018/2017 in %) 

Poland 

3.35 (+2,2 %) 

China 

Czech Republic 

1.69 (-4,8 %) 

1.90 (-1.6 %) 

Italy 

0.80 (±0 %) 

Hungary 

Romania 

Turkey 

France 

Austria 

0.46 (-6.2 %) 

0.36 (-7.1 %) 

0.33 (+0.9 %) 

0.31 (+6.8 %) 

0.27(-12.7 %) 

Netherlands 

0.26 (-4.0 %) 


Source: VDM

M_mt0318_Anz_Limbach_96x67.indd 1 05.01.18 09:42 


Turnover of the German furniture industry 2012–2019 (in billion euros) 

2012 







2019* 

*estimation 

Furniture production by geographical 

regions 2018 (% in value) 

Asia and 

Pacific 54 % 

Source: CSIL 

Middle East and Africa 3 % 

North America 15 % 

South 

America 2% 

Europe (incl. Russia 

and Turkey) 26 % 

16.0 

16.4 

17.1 

17.4 

18.0 

17.8 

18.0 

17.6 

Source: VDM 

around 130,000 people. As the statistics 

also include smaller companies 

with fewer than 50 employees, 

the statistical data cannot be 

compared with the German data. 

The turnover of the furniture manufacturers 

is estimated by the industry 

association Federlegno-Arredo 

at 16.4 billion euros for 2018, which 

corresponds to an increase of 2 per 

cent compared to the previous year. 

Furniture manufacturers thus accounted 

for 38.5 per cent of the total 

turnover of the wood and furniture 

industry, which is estimated at 

42.6 billion euros for 2018. If other 

furnishing sectors such as bathroom 

furnishings (-0.5%), office furnishings 

(1%) and lighting (+0.2%) 

are added to the pure furniture turnover, 

this results in a turnover of 

27.4 billion euros, which was 1.9 per 

cent higher than the previous year’s 

figure. In terms of exports, however, 

the industry was only able to increase 


According to Federlegno-Arredo, 

domestic demand for furniture 

grew by 1.8 per cent in the year under 

review, not least due to a government 

subsidy programme. Introduced 

in 2013, this “Bonus Mobili” 

program grants tax breaks to all 

those who purchase new furniture 

or larger, energy-efficient built-in 

electrical appliances as part of renovation 

and maintenance work on 

their property. The tax savings 

amount to 50 per cent up to a total 

amount of 10,000 euros and thus a 

maximum of 5,000 euros. Divided 

over ten years, a maximum deduction 

of 500 euros per year can be 

claimed. However, imports also 

benefited from the furniture bonus, 

with growth estimated at 5 per 

cent. 

The Italian market research institute 

CSIL expects the Italian furniture 

industry to continue its positive 

development, as the extension 

of the “Bonus Mobili” to the current 

year has once again created 

sales incentives. While exports are 

expected to increase by 1.6 per 

cent, market researchers are forecasting 

domestic demand to grow 

by 1 per cent. The increase in production 

turnover is expected to be 

equally high. CSIL also sees the further 

development of the market as 

positive. Since exports are expected 

to increase by 3 per cent over 

the next two years, furniture production 

could increase by 2 per 

cent. 

Richard Barth 

The negative industry result in the 

first half of 2019 was not least attributable 

to the decline in domestic 

demand, which could not be offset 

by the positive export results. 

The German furniture industry generates 

only one third of its sales 

abroad. In the reporting period, exports 

increased by 2.4 per cent to 

5.7 billion euros. Imports were also 

affected by the negative development 

on the domestic market. 

These fell by 0.7 per cent to 6.7 billion 

euros. Accordingly, the foreign 

trade deficit fell by 17 per cent to 

around 1 billion euros. As the VDM 

further informs, more than 55 per 

cent of the value is attributable to 

the three most important supplier 

countries Poland, China and the 

Czech Republic. Due to the weak 

business development in the first 

half of the year and the negative 

signs for the second half of 2019, 

VDM anticipates a decline in industry 

sales of 1.5 to 2 per cent for 

2019 as a whole. 

Italy: on course for recovery 

Italy is the second largest furniture 

producer in Europe and one of the 

largest furniture exporters. In 2018 

the Italian companies sold 51 per 

cent of their production abroad. The 

production of furniture is handled 

by 18,600 companies employing 

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Individualisation 

through material mix 

The furnishing trends in Western Europe can be seen every year at the two 

major furniture fairs, imm cologne in Cologne and Salone del Mobile in 

Milan. With more than 3,000 exhibitors, both events offer visitors an overview 

of new shapes, colours and materials. The increasingly individual furnishing 

wishes of consumers have led to a variety of materials in which wood no 

longer plays the main role. 

fair and will therefore not be taking 

part again until 2020 (20.–26. April 

2020) were not on board. 

The imm cologne, which takes 

place in the odd-numbered years 

together with the kitchen trade fair 

LivingKitchen in Cologne (Germany), 

offers an initial insight into the 

new furnishing trends every year. 

Molteni (Italy) also wants to 

make rooms transparent with 

glass cabinets. Photo: Molteni 

At both fairs (14.1.–20.1.19), 1,355 

furniture and kitchen manufacturers 

from 50 countries presented 

their new models. Among the exhibitors 

were around 370 German 

suppliers, whose products offered 

an insight into the current taste of 

German furnishing. Visitor interest 

proved to be just as international as 

the range on offer at the fair: Both 


events – including around 50,000 

end consumers – attracted more 

than 150,000 visitors. With a share 

of 52 per cent, the share of foreign 

visitors was higher than in previous 

years. 

At the same time, the range on offer 

at the furniture fair in Cologne 

gave a foretaste of the furnishing 

trends that were to be seen a few 

months later at the Salone del Mobile 

in Milan (Italy). Numerous imm 

cologne material trends were confirmed 

at the Italian furniture show. 

New colour and material trends 

were also set at the Salone. With 

over 2,400 exhibitors, the Milan 

event (9.4. to 14.4.2019) set off a 

firework display of innovative products 

for the home, the office and 

the bathroom. Around 1,300 suppliers 

gathered in the residential furniture 

sector. 

This year the event attracted 

386,236 visitors from 181 countries, 

including around 100,000 end 

consumers. The manufacturers of 

kitchens who only exhibit every 

two years at the Eurocucina trade 

In the “Vivi” concept by Doimo 

(Italy), the pattern of the 

wallpaper can be found on the 

furniture and table fronts. 

Photo: Doimo 

Deep matt surfaces 

For this reason, visitor interest at 

the Cologne event was increasingly 

devoted to the kitchen range, which 

was characterised by diversity and 

numerous new presentations. In 

addition to real wood, lacquered 

fronts could be seen in the kitchen 

area, which did not appear in high 

gloss but with a deep matt surface. 

With their velvety soft feel, they resembled 

the laminate surfaces exhibited 

with an anti-fingerprint effect. 

Metallic surfaces in various 

shades were also on display. For 

kitchens and living furniture, thick 

veneers were also used, which 

were embossed and thus had an 

authentic old wood character. Compared 

to previous years, however, 

the wood surfaces were less rustic 

and more elegant. Oak dominated 

the solid wood programmes in the 

living area, followed by beech, 

which mostly appeared as ash pine 

or beech heartwood. More frequently 

than in previous years, oak 

was shown in the white oiled version. 

Among the wood reproductions, 

oak was also ahead of walnut. The 

rusticity of the previous years also 

seemed to be somewhat reduced 

here, so that more elegant and 

above all lighter oak decors could

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be seen. Occasionally, replicas of 

ash and larch were shown. In addition 

to the authentic appearance 

of the decors, there was a 

corresponding haptic, because 

melamine surfaces as well as 

some finish foils were provided 

with a tactile surface structure. 

In many cases only accents were 

set with wood and wood replicas, 

while other material replicas such 

as cement or concrete as well as 

stone or marble were given greater 

focus. Ceramics and slate were 

also used as materials as well as 

replicas. 

Black and almost black surfaces 

were eye-catching in the colours. 

At the same time, light, pastel 

blue and green shades as well as 

various shades of grey were also 

to be found in the trade fair image. 

Glass creates 

transparent spaces 

The strong presence of open 

shelves in the kitchen and glass 

showcases in the living room was 

also a striking feature of the range 

on offer at the trade fair. Visitors to 

Marble is one of the trendy 

materials for Olivieri (Italy) as a 

replica on the glass fronts of 

the wardrobe. Photo: Olivieri 

the glass showcases usually 

found a metal frame structure in 

which the sides were also made 

of glass and thus provided increased 

transparency in the 

room. Transparency also proved 

to be an important trend at the Salone 

del Mobile in Milan (Italy), as 

almost every exhibitor had exhibited 

wardrobes and, in some cases, 

home furniture with a metal 

structure completely clad in glass. 

A large part of the exhibited furniture 

was also not equipped with 

the usual cup hinges, but had 

hinges that were almost flush 

with the wall. Both in Cologne and 

in Milan, built-in sliding doors 

(pocket doors) were also on dis- 

There were also other material 

impressions to be seen on the 

fronts, such as ceramic in 

marble look at Schüller 

(Germany). Photo: Schüller 

As individual as you. 

Customisable design – a matter of importance for more 

and more furniture buyers. But how can marketable, 

customised options be produced cost effectively? 

To this end, Hettich has for a long time been offering 

platform concepts and solutions that fascinate. Discover 

how easy it is to make customisable furniture design the 

standard. In your production too. 

Let Hettich fascinate you.


The oval chest of drawers B&B 

Italia (Italy) is made of tineo 

veneer. Photo: B&B Italia 

hunter green to a mustard shade. 

In the mid-price segment, however, 

grey tones dominated the trade 

fair image, while beige, brown and 

mud tones were the dominant 

colours in the high-price segment. 

Marble “on top” 

For numerous furnishing products, 

the exhibitors also played with the 

The kitchen of Dada (Italy) has 

fronts in Black Palm Wood. 

Photo: Dada 

play, which can be used to conceal 

utility areas in the kitchen, for example, 

or a workplace in the kitchen 

area. Since the living spaces in 

the houses are now more open and 

the boundaries between kitchen 

and living space become fluid, areas 

of the kitchen can be concealed 

in this way. 

Organic shapes 

At the Salone del Mobile, the new 

box furniture was presented in thin 

material thicknesses and often in a 

minimalist style, while the upholstered 

furniture was often lavishly 

upholstered and with organic lines. 

The opposite was formed by expansive, 

linear upholstery programmes 

with low seat depths. 

While dark wood colours dominated 

the high-value segment, the 

Metal on the front: Kettnaker 

(Germany) and Zeyko (Germany). 

Photos: Kettnaker, Zeyko 

range in the mid-price segment 

was lighter. In the upper price segment, 

oak and eucalyptus veneer, 

often thermally treated or stained 

black, continued to play the main 

role. This year, however, furniture in 

light oak was added for the first 

time. Walnut had also gained 

ground. Elm was a widespread 

wood species, especially in the replicas. 

Some programmes were 

shown in ash veneer, which was 

then often varnished in open-pore 

colour. Exotic woods and veneers 

Lema (Italy) showed furniture made of heat-treated oak on filigree 

bronze-colored metal feet. 

Photo: Lema 

were occasionally used: Tineo 

wood veneer was to be found at 

B&B Italia (Italy), Porro (Italy) presented 

Pale-Moon wood (a strongly 

drawn ebony from Southeast 

Asia), MisuraEmme (Italy) showed 

furniture made of high-gloss ebony 

and Dada (Italy) made of black palm 

wood. 

Green proved to be the trend colour 

for this year’s salon, as this colour 

was exhibited both in the living area 

and in upholstered furniture. The 

palette ranged from pastel green to 

materials to give their models an individual 

look. The main role was 

played by marble and various reproductions 

of the material. While the 

original stone was often colour-intensive 

or with contrasting veins, 

the replicas were based on classic 

Cararra marble. Richard Barth 

At Ballerina (Germany), work 

areas in the kitchen can be 

concealed with pocket doors. 

Photo: Ballerina 

12 material+technik möbel – special 01|19


The adhesives specialist Kleiberit 

(Germany) has developed new adhesive 

solutions in micro-emission 

quality for various areas of application, 

which can score points in 

terms of user benefits and can be 

identified by the ME (=Micro-Emission) 

label. According to the manufacturer, 

these products are characterized 

by the highest bonding 

properties, combined with safe and 

simple handling, as well as environmental 

friendliness and no obligation 

to label. 

Wide range of applications 

The PUR hot-melt adhesive “Kleiberit 

702.5.03 ME” is used for the 

sheathing of wood-based material 

and PVC profiles in the interior. Very 

high initial strength, enormous heat 

resistance of up to +140 °C (depending 

on substrate) and cold resistance 

down to -40 °C characterize 

this product. 

For edge bonding, the company 

has added the two PUR hot melt 

adhesives “KLEIBERIT 707.9.03 

ME” and “KLEIBERIT 707.9.38 

ME” to its product range. 

When laminating flat workpieces 

with foils, veneers or papers on 

laminating machines, Kleiberit also 

“HotCoating” technology can 

also be used to finish products 

for outdoor use. 

Competence in 

adhesives and coatings 

The adhesives specialist Kleiberit has developed a comprehensive portfolio 

of environmentally friendly PUR adhesives and with these products it hits 

the nerve of time. For years, the company has also been successful with its 

“HotCoating” technology, with which surfaces are finished worldwide. 

relies on the use of reactive PUR 

hot-melt adhesives in ME quality 

and offers a whole range of new 

hot-melt adhesives such as “KLEI- 

BERIT 706.2.03 ME” or “KLEIBER- 

IT 706.2.43 ME”. 

New fields of application 

With more than 60 plants using the 

company’s “HotCoating” technology 

installed worldwide, Kleiberit 

has been an important partner to 

the wood-based panel industry for 

surface finishing for years. The 

company continuously develops 

the process further and opens up 

new fields of application. 

At Ligna 2019, for example, a system 

for finishing digitally printed 

roll material using the “HotCoating” 

process was presented, which 

was taken over by a customer directly 

after the trade fair. It can be 

used to coat webs up to 1.50 m 

wide, which opens up completely 

new possibilities for the user in the 

high-quality coating of elements 

such as doors. The technology can 

also be used to produce both highgloss 

and supermatt finishes, 

which are then provided with textured 

embossing in a further process. 

The advantage of this “imprint” 

technology is that the flexible 

The new Micro Emission PUR 

adhesives score points, among 

other things, in the surface 

lamination of various panel 

materials. Photos: Kleiberit 

“HotCoating” functional layer does 

not break out, as is the case with 

classic coatings. It is also possible 

to use “HotCoating” technology to 

finish products for the outdoor 

sector. 

ba 

Recently, roll material can also 

be coated using the HotCoating 

process, which opens up 

completely new possibilities for 

the user in the high-quality 

coating of elements. 


Salice presented 

his pocket door 

system “Exedra” 

with assisted 

opening action 

and damped 

closing movement. 

Photo: Salice 

Authentic surfaces 

and “invisible” fittings 

Decorative surfaces and functional fittings that inspire users visually and haptically and offer them comfort 

were the focus of this year’s interzum in Cologne. As the world’s leading trade fair for supplier materials for 

the furnishing industry, it lived up to its reputation in May and attracted visitors from all over the world. 

To mark the 60 th anniversary of the 

supplier show, interzum (21.5.– 

24.5.2019) featured the largest 

product range in years: 1,805 exhibitors 

had gathered on an area of 

around 190,000 sqm to present 

their new developments in surfaces, 

wood-based materials, decorative 

and functional fittings, light and 

upholstery materials to more than 

74,000 international visitors. This 

was more exhibitors and visitors 

than at the previous interzum in 

2017. According to the trade fair 

management, 55,000 foreign visitors 

alone took the opportunity to 

get an overview of the latest supplier 

products at the world’s leading 

trade fair held every two years. 

In the even years, Koelnmesse, as 

the organiser of interzum in the 

German city of Bad Salzuflen, organises 

a smaller supplier product 

show under the name ZOW, which 

concentrates more on the regional 

furniture industry and focuses 

more on exchanging ideas with users 

than on presenting new products. 

It will take place from 4 to 6 

February 2020. 

Leading suppliers on board 

At interzum in Cologne, the leading 

exhibitors of wood-based products, 

surface products and fittings competed 

in all product segments. The 

manufacturers of recessed furniture 

luminaires were also represented. 

The upholstered furniture 

industry also had a wide range of 

products on offer, including foams, 

adhesives, upholstery materials 

and relax fittings in several exhibition 

halls. 

The products were often presented 

in a homely atmosphere or as ideas 

for tomorrow’s living scenarios. In 

addition to the practical application 

ideas and solutions at the trade fair, 

hardware manufacturer Hettich 

(Germany) presented sophisticated 

application possibilities for its 

products, thus providing customers 

with a wealth of inspiration on 

their journey home. In addition to 

the huge range on offer at the fair, 

this year’s interzum was also 

packed with a wealth of themed exhibitions 

on new technologies and 

disruptive materials. The aim was 

to give visitors a glimpse of new 

manufacturing technologies and 

materials that furniture manufacturers 

might change in the future. 

The supporting programme was 

supplemented by specialist lectures 

on current industry topics and 

product innovations, which provided 

further information at the four 

so-called Piazzas and familiarised 

visitors to the fair with future topics 

relevant to the industry. 


Flap fittings such as the “ViZard 

by ambigence” from Hettich are 

hidden in the side wall. 

Photo: Hettich 

Living today and tomorrow 

Not only at the Piazzas but also at 

the exhibitors’ stands, visitors 

were made aware of the expected


Coked or burnt woods such as 

“Carbonized Wood” from 

Impress were among the new 

decors. Photo: Impress 

changes and challenges that will result 

from the ageing of society, urbanisation 

and, as a result, the scarcity 

of affordable housing in the cities. 

The hardware manufacturers 

Blum (Austria), Hettich and Häfele 

(both Germany) came up with suggestions 

and solutions on how to 

live comfortably in confined spaces 

and how sophisticated functional 

fittings can ensure the multifunctionality 

of furniture and rooms. 

As the boundaries between kitchen 

and living space are becoming 

blurred, end consumers are looking 

for furnishing solutions that allow 

them to hide the working areas of 

the kitchen. This is where pocket 

doors such as those seen at Blum 

(Austria), Salice (Italy) or Hawa 

(Switzerland) come in. When open, 

Blum’s single or double doors are 

concealed in their own narrow corpus. 

To close, the door is only slightly 

pressed and thus gently ejected 

from the pocket. Even when opening, 

the door only needs to be 

pressed slightly and it moves to the 

side and can be pushed into the 

narrow body element by pressing 

lightly. 

Other functional fittings also disappear 

from the observer’s view: Two 

years ago, door hinges were integrated 

into the carcase and made 

their debut at interzum. This year 

they were followed by flap fittings 

for kitchen wall units. Integrated into 

the side corpus, hardly visible, 

they provide an optically seamless 

interior for the cabinets and at the 

same time do not take up any storage 

space. Even with the new, slim 

drawer systems, the technology is 

hidden in such a way that no cover 

caps or other technical details can 

interfere with the flawless interior 

of the drawer. 

More differentiation 

In addition, supplier products such 

as drawer systems are designed to 

be modular so that they allow users 

to differentiate prices within their 

product range or from competitors 

without having to stock large quantities. 

At the same time, storage is 

reduced because many components 

for the drawers are identical. 

The aim of the manufacturers is to 

enable their users from the furniture 

industry to individualise the 

process chain at the end. In addition, 

there are further tricks, such 

as a high degree of pre-assembly of 

complicated hardware systems 

and the simplest possible on-site 

assembly, which reduce effort and 

costs. This also applies to the electrification 

of movement functions: 

Salice (Italy) presented an innovative 

motorization solution for its 

various sliding door systems, which 

“Smartfoil Nature” is a finish 

foil with anti-fingerprint effect 

and matt soft-touch surface. 

Photo: Schattdecor 

only has to be docked onto the 

guide rail and can therefore be retrofitted. 

PVC instead of paper 

Visitors to the fair experienced a 

small revolution in surface products: 

instead of printing on decor 

paper as before, almost all decor 

printers presented additional thermoplastic 

materials such as PVC 

and PP as substrates for their replicas 

of wood or other natural materials. 

The new base materials can 

score points with product properties 

that cannot be achieved with 

decor paper, such as the combination 

of moisture resistance with 

special surface effects. In addition 

to the ever more authentic reproductions 

of natural materials such 

as wood, stones or fabrics, the haptics 

and the functional properties of 

the surfaces were given an important 

role. More and more furniture 

surfaces are being equipped with 

anti-fingerprint properties. In addi- 

Blum’s “Merivobox” gives 

manufacturers the possibility to 

offer their customers a diverse 

pull-out range based on one box 

system. 

Photo: Blum 


tion, there are synchronous haptic 

structures that make it almost impossible 

to distinguish replicas 

from the original wooden or stone 

models. 

Wood, marble and metal 

For the designs, the decor printers 

focused on material diversity and 

not only on wood reproductions. In 

addition to marble and various 

stone reproductions, metal decors 

were shown, in which the spectrum 

of impressions ranged from 

oxidised steel to aluminium optics 

and finished surfaces. 

With the woods, the companies 

set different accents, either remaining 

true to the rusticity of the 

oak and thus to the vintage look, or 

relying on exotic woods. Hybrid decors, 

in which different materials 

were combined, such as concrete 

and fabric look or floral wallpaper 

patterns with lime surfaces, were 

also on display. 

The wood colours did not show a 

uniform picture. While one decor 

printer was dominated by light 

tones, other stands were dominated 

by medium to darker colours. 

Several suppliers showed decors 

inspired by burnt or charred wood, 

such as the old Japanese technique 

Shou Sugi Ban. Alternative materials 

to wood, such as metals and 


The new “ST 20 Metal Brushed” 

surface at Egger looks like 

genuine brushed aluminium. 

Photo: Egger 

stones in particular, also served as 

models and were artificially “aged”. 

In addition to carbonized woods, 

the designs included oxidized steel 

and brushed or flamed metals. Other 

suppliers had chosen textile fabrics 

or worn carpets as models. In 

particular, the replicas of old wood 

or weathered woods were made 

using all the latest technology. 

Cracks, knotholes and traces of use 

and processing were reproduced 

plastically in such a way that, in 

combination with the corresponding 

haptics, they produced an authentic 

effect on laminates, melamine 

surfaces and also on finish 

foils. The manufacturers of thermoplastic 

furniture foils also followed 

this trend and equipped their materials 

with appropriate embossing. 

For example, the “Metalspin” embossing 

could be seen at 

Hornschuch (Germany). This is an 

iridescent polished structure that 

gives metallized plain colours the 

character of a used metal surface 

With tight radii, the new edges 

from MKT prevent white 

breakage. Photo: Barth 

With “Rocks” Interprint made its 

contribution to the marble trend. 

Photo: Interprint 

through “circular” traces of use. In 

line with the current metal trend, 

the new “ST 20 Metal Brushed” 

surface, which looks like brushed 

genuine aluminium, was on display 

at Egger (Austria). The “ST 75 Mineral 

Satin” texture, which gives decors 

a matt and velvety feel, was 

presented especially for worktops. 

Pfleiderer (Germany) presented 

the laminated panel “XTreme plus”. 

Fingerprints do not remain and 

even stubborn traces of grease can 

be easily removed. With its high 

abrasion and scratch resistance, it 

is even suitable for heavily used interior 

and contract furnishings. 

The wood-based panel industry also 

used interzum to introduce new 

wood-based panels. The “Be.Yond” 

chipboard made its debut at Swiss 

Krono (Switzerland). According to 

the company, it is the most environmentally 

friendly furniture board of 

its kind on the market. It is manufactured 

with a binder system on a 

“DuraBind” biobasis from the 

Canadian company EcoSynthetix 

and has an emission level that 

matches that of trees. 

Metamerism-free edges 

The manufacturers of edge bandings 

were also able to come up 

with innovations. An important topic 

was the freedom from metamerism. 

Exhibitors such as MKT (Germany) 

and Kröning (Germany) will 

be presenting edge bandings that 

perfectly match the colour of the 

furniture surface under different 

light sources. So far, it has been 

possible for furniture fronts, edges 

and profiles to be identical in colour 

in daylight, but different in colour 

under a different light source such 

as LED or neon light. MKT also presented 

PP edge bandings for panels 

with tight radii where no white 

breakage is visible. Richard Barth 

The “Be.Yond” chipboard from 

Swiss Krono is regarded as the 

most environmentally friendly 

furniture board on the market. 

Photo: Swiss Krono


Customized drawers 

The individualisation 

megatrend: Hettich presents 

its innovative platform 

“AvanTech YOU” as the latest 

stand-out product in the field 

of drawer systems. This 

enables furniture manufacturers 

to react economically 

to individual customer 

wishes. Photos: Hettich 

With “AvanTech YOU” Hettich (Germany) 

presents a new platform and 

its latest stand-out product in the 

field of drawer systems. This platform 

allows drawers to be designed 

in a unique manner and, according 

to the company, wins customers 

over with its exceptionally slim, purist 

design, without any visible screw 

heads or cover caps. 

In doing so, the platform provides 

the company with the opportunity 

to get ahead of the competition – to 

provide unique furniture design 

across a range of price segments 

and to react to customer specifications 

in a targeted manner. It enables 

manufacturers to offer a wide 

range of goods while also enjoying 

the benefits of lean, flexible manufacturing 

processes and low production 

and storage costs. 

On fairs, Hettich uses the motto 

“Fascin[action]” to display a range 

of product solutions which are 

based on the individual wishes of 

the customer: to feel style, enjoy 

comfort and win storage. 

Using creative design ideas, the fitting 

solutions company is aiming to 

provide a clear demonstration of 

how living spaces can be connected 

in a functional and elegant manner. 

For example, how you can enjoy 

a closet with a panorama effect. 

Or how you can make office work 

even more comfortable thanks to 

convertible furniture concepts. leo 

New, durable wrapping foil qualities 

“DFF 200” and “DFF 145”, these are the new 

foils with which Kröning (Germany) turns to 

manufacturers of room doors and baseboards. 

“Outstanding overstretching and carrier lamination 

with the additional possibility of overpainting” 

– argues , the specialist for surfaces of the 

furniture industry. Foils weights of 145 or 200 

grams per square meter, minimum quantity of 

one roll with 500 sqm, different white shades 

are available from stock. These are further arguments 

from the team. For those interested, the 

company provides an information folder with 

technical details and original samples. Kröning 

products are according to company information 

made sustainably from renewable raw materials 

and finished with water-based paints and varnishes. 

All films of the “DFF 145” and “DFF 

200” series are FSC certified. Surfaces for furniture 

industry are the main topic from the specialist 

for surfaces. Melamine resin edges – varied 

stock offer, pure-metal-foils for profile wrapping, 

PVC foils – pretty tough and other finish foils. A 

diverse assortment for furniture marked. leo 

For those interested, Kröning provides an 

information folder with technical details and 

original samples. 

Photo: Kröning 


Schattdecor wants to position 

itself as a free impregnator with 

new worldwide impregnation 

locations such as here in Brazil. 

Photo: Schattdecor 

Surface specialists are 

repositioning themselves 

The European suppliers of surface materials are repositioning themselves. 

In recent months, various companies in the industry have changed hands. 

Clear signs were also set in sales, where investments were made in new 

product segments and in strengthening the company’s presence in global 

growth markets. 

The Japanese surface specialist 

Toppan Printing plans to strengthen 

its position on the German market 

with the purchase of the decor 

printer Interprint (Germany). The 

takeover of Interprint is currently 

under review by the antitrust authorities, 

so the purchase is not expected 

to be completed until the 

end of the year. The German decor 

printer is not the first Japanese 

company acquisition in Europe. In 

2017, they had already acquired the 

decor printer Decotec Printing 

(Spain) and thus their first printing 

location in Europe. With Interprint, 

they now receive a much larger 

slice of the cake, as the company 

achieved sales of around EUR 355 

million in 2018. In addition to the 

production site in Germany, Interprint 

has printing sites and finish 

foil production facilities in Poland, 

the USA, Brazil, Malaysia and 

China. 

The surface specialist Surteco 


(Germany) concentrates on its core 

competences. In July, the company 

announced the sale of its US impregnation 

site in East Longmeadow. 

The new owner is the US chemical 

group Arclin. Surteco originally 

had two impregnation sites in 

North America. In 2015, the plant in 

Biscoe/USA had already been sold 

to the engineered wood manufacturer 

Arauco North America and activities 

concentrated at the East 

Longmeadow site. 

Prospects seen in China 

Schattdecor (Germany) is not only 

the world market leader in decor 

printing but also wants to position 

itself as a free impregnator on the 

surface market worldwide. For this 

Lamigraf (here: printing site 

in Curitiba) and the BMK Group 

see competitive advantages 

in the cooperation. 

Photo: Lamigraf 

reason, the company has not only 

greatly expanded its European impregnation 

capacities, but has also 

invested in new locations abroad. 

Among other things, the Malaysian 

impregnator Vasatech was acquired. 

At the same time, the international 

decor printing and finish 

foil activities are being further ex- 

panded. In the USA, the finish foil 

producer US Coating was taken 

over. 

Another important focus market is 

China, where the second printing 

facility in Quzhou went into operation 

in May 2019. The construction 

of the plant is Schattdecor’s response 

to the capacity bottlenecks 

at the Shanghai plant. The second 

location offers space for ten narrow 

4-foot and six wide 8-foot printing 

machines on a production and office 

area of 25,000 sqm. At present, 

however, only two 4-foot 

wide presses have been installed, 

and two more are scheduled to go 

into operation at the end of 2019. In 

addition to the two printing sites, 

the Thansau-based company also 

has an impregnation plant in Huanggang 

and, as part of the Kingdecor 

joint venture, operates a decor paper 

production facility, which is also 

located in Quzhou. 

Investment in digital printing 

Schattdecor also wants to grow in 

digital printing. After Interprint 

(Germany) recently announced its 

investment in a second digital printing 

system from printing press 

manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (Germany), 

Schattdecor also plans to 

purchase a second digital printing 

system. Like the first “Palis 2250” 

system installed in 2016, this will 

produce industrially at a speed of 

up to 162 metres per minute with a 

width of 2.25 metres. Interprint 

commissioned its first digital printing 

system with a width of 1.68 me-


Advertisement 

Toppan Printing from Japan is 

the new owner of the decor 

printer Interprint in Arnsberg. 

Photo: Interprint 

tres in 2014. But digital printing is 

also increasingly making its way 

into the wood-based products industry: 

Swiss Krono (Switzerland) 

is also investing in its second digital 

printing system from Koenig & 

Bauer, which is to be installed in 

Heiligengrabe, Germany. 

The independent impregnators 

and smaller decor printers, on the 

other hand, intend to strengthen 

their competitive position through 

cooperation agreements. By cooperating 

with the BMK Group 

(Germany), which has impregnation 

facilities in Germany, the USA 

and Russia, the decor printer 

Lamigraf (Spain) intends to offer 

customers more surface solutions 

and expand their range of services 

in future. 

The suppliers of thermoplastic furniture 

films see growth potential 

in the Asian markets. Renolit (Germany) 

has founded a joint venture 

called Guangdong Renolit Citiking 

with its Chinese trading partner 

Citiking and the previous owner 

Dongtang. With 60 employees 

and three printing and embossing 

machines, 2D and 3D foils in high 

gloss and supermatt are produced, 

which extend the portfolio 

of the already existing location in 

Guangdong. 

Decor paper producers 

invest overseas 

After the suppliers of decor paper 

had already concentrated in recent 

years, the focus is now on expanding 

worldwide decor paper 

capacities, particularly in China. 

The Felix-Schoeller Group (Germany) 

was able to strengthen its position 

in the Chinese market by acquiring 

a majority interest in the 

decor paper producer Grandrich. 

The takeover took place via 

Winbon Schoeller New Materials, 

the Chinese joint venture of the 

German paper producer. As another 

major player in decor papers, 

Ahlstrom-Munksjö had already expanded 

its market position on the 

American continent in 2018 with 

the takeover of the two specialty 

paper producers Expera (Kaukauna/USA) 

and Caieiras (Caieiras/ 

Brazil). 

With the capacity expansions, the 

surface specialists are reacting 

not least to the growing concentration 

on the customer side. In recent 

months, a new global player 

has emerged on the laminate market, 

Broadview Holding (part of 

HAL Investments). It completed 

the acquisition of the Formica 

Group in the summer of this year. 

With the acquisition of Formica, 

the holding now also includes the 

laminate manufacturer Homapal 

(Germany). As early as 2018, the 

holding company acquired a majority 

stake in the wood-based 

products producer Westag & 

Getalit (Germany). Previously, the 

holding included the laminate 

producers Trespa International 

(Netherlands) and Arpa Industries 

(Italy). 

Change of ownership also for laminate 

supplier Decolan (Switzerland): 

The distributor was taken 

over by the Indian laminate manufacturer 

Greenlam and now operates 

on the market under the 

name Greenlam Decolan S.A. 

The laminate manufacturer 

Dekodur (Germany), which filed 

for insolvency at the end of 2018, 

can continue to operate with the 

help of a private investor and a 

holding company. At the newly 

founded DI-Dekodur International, 

all 65 employees have been given 

a new job. Richard Barth 

Schattdecor has opened its 

second printing facility in 

China. Photo: Schattdecor


Technologies for businesses 

both big and small 

This year’s Ligna not only demonstrated efficient technologies for use in industrial furniture production, 

but also presented those independent joiners and carpenters visiting the trade fair with automation 

solutions that also cater to their needs – thus providing smaller businesses with their own opportunities 

for more cost-efficient manufacturing. What’s more, the world’s leading trade fair also put forward a 

comprehensive range of coatings, adhesives, inspection systems and measuring systems which can be 

used to avoid rejects and allow production to be set up in a more environmentally-friendly manner. 

Baumer presented a system 

for inspecting raw board in 

the form of “ColourBrain 

RawBoard 4.0”. 

Photo: Baumer 

technology, which allows for the 

creation of deep matt surfaces with 

an anti-fingerprint effect. At the 

Ligna, this technology was used in 

combination with an exceptionally 

wide range of application procedures. 

Prior to the Ligna, excimer 

technology had only been able to 

be used on flat panel material. 

However, at the trade fair, Cefla 

(Italy) and Giardina (Italy) were able 

to present solutions for threedimensional 

furniture parts, such 

as profiled kitchen fronts or other 

shaped parts, for the very first 

time. Digital printing also played a 

bigger role in the trade fair than it 

has done in previous years, with a 

large number of exhibitors competing 

to demonstrate newly-developed 

solutions aimed at a range of 

Using excimer technology, 

Giardina is able to give threedimensional 

objects extremely 

matt surfaces with an anti-fingerprint 

effect. Photo: Barth 

Taking place from 27 th to 31 st May 

2019 and boasting approximately 

1,500 exhibitors from 50 countries, 

the Ligna in Hanover (Germany) 

provided those from the furniture 

and wood products industries, as 

well as representatives from the 

skilled crafts and trades, with an 

update on everything new in the 

world of wood processing, also giving 

them a glimpse into the furniture 

production processes of the 

future. With more than 90,000 visitors 

from 100 countries, the technology 

exhibition was able to demonstrate 

that its reputation as the 

world’s leading trade fair for wood 

processing machines remains very 

much intact. Leading manufacturers 

of wood processing machines 


from both Germany and Italy repeatedly 

jostled for space with 

their larger stands. However, the 

negative situation regarding orders 

in the first quarter of 2019 did put a 

damper on things – during this period, 

German trade association VD- 

MA and Italian trade association 

Acimall reported a drop in orders 

for wood processing machines that 

amounted to 17 percent in Germany 

and 11 percent in Italy. 

Anti-Fingerprint surfaces 

The surface segment provided 

what could be considered the biggest 

technological innovations, further 

increasing the range of potential 

surface technologies. For example, 

many eyes were on excimer


Fagus-Grecon’s new generation 

of “Superscan” systems can 

distinguish between real defects 

and “pseudo defects”. 

Photo: Barth 

differently-sized companies. Some 

also offered the opportunity to create 

haptic pores on digitally-printed 

decorative products. When it came 

to more “analogue” coating technologies, 

the main focus was on 

improved control over processes 

through digital networking and providing 

direct user support through 

service apps, as well as on new “air 

circulation systems” and cleaning 

systems. 

Networked systems and robots 

Machine manufacturers are predicting 

that the future lies not in 

linked plants but rather in networked 

production cells. At the 

Ligna, providers thus demonstrated 

a range of different solutions, 

which should enable furniture manufacturers 

to further increase their 

degree of automation, allowing 

them to carry out almost completely 

unmanned manufacturing. According 

to these manufacturing 

concepts, autonomous transport 

vehicles ensure the provision and 

further transport of furniture parts 

to the corresponding cells, where 

robots will also be primarily responsible 

for carrying out handling and 

processing tasks. At SCM (Italy), 

collaborative robots work together 

with the operator by applying glue, 

sanding or mounting fittings. By 

carrying out repetitive, less valuable 

tasks, the robots allow the operator 

to concentrate on more valuable 

tasks. Düspohl (Germany) has 

developed their own “RoboWrap” 

concept, whereby up to 47 articulated 

robots can be programmed to 

take on wrapping tasks. This is also 

something, which increases efficiency, 

as modifying the profiles 

only takes five minutes. 

This year, when it came to classic 

wood processing machines, focus 

was placed less on output records 

and feed rates and more on simpler 

operation and how to integrate the 

machines into the digital world. In 

the future, the aim is to have a comprehensive 

range of services and 

apps on offer in order to make operating 

these machines easier for inexperienced 

or untrained employees, 

as well as to make the production 

process more transparent. 

When it came to production with a 

lot size of one, exhibitors demonstrated 

further developments and 

improvements which have been 

made in nesting technology; improvements 

which are increasing 

efficiency levels. 

The future of furniture 

production 

This year, the Homag Group’s (Germany) 

“InnovationCenter” acted as 

a medium through which the machine 

manufacturer was able to 

show visitors to the trade fair what 

additional digital solutions their developers 

were currently working 

on. For example, thanks to augmented 

reality glasses, machine 

operators at divider saws will be 

shown the correct work procedure, 

At SCM, collaborative robots 

support the operator by taking 

on tasks such as sanding work 

or inserting fittings. Photo: Barth 

will be made aware of errors, and 

will even be shown the correct pile 

on which to put down the sawn 

product. 

Some of these operational tools 

have already become a reality, and 

were able to be found on the machines 

exhibited at the Ligna. For 

example, solutions, which support 

users via LED bands or laser projection 

are already available. In the future, 

parts will able to be sorted 

with the help of LED support and 

“hands-free” barcode scanning 

systems, enabling the quick recognition 

of parts, which are missing 

from the assembly. 

Environmentally friendly 

adhesives 

In addition to technology providers, 

all the leading adhesives manufacturers 

were also present at the 

world’s leading trade fair. This year, 

they had brought adhesives, which 

Wemhöner presented its first 

roll to roll single-pass printer. 

Photo: Barth 

were so low in emissions that they 

are not even subject to the legal labelling 

requirements concerning 

poisonous substances. The providers 

of furniture varnishes who attended 

the fair also focused on environmentally 

friendly application 

solutions, many of which were 

based on naturally occurring resources. 

The range of new products on offer 

was rounded off with a series of innovative 

measurement and inspection 

systems, which can be used by 

both the supplier and by the customer. 

These should contribute towards 

reducing complaint rates 

and, ultimately, towards reducing 

those costs, which occur when the 

customer does not accept faulty 

parts. 

Richard Barth 


Since March ICMS has been 

used in the production of 

digitally printed plastic edges. 

First inline colour 

measurement 

in operation 

Another milestone has been reached in the objective evaluation of surfaces these days. For the first 

time it has become possible to carry out an objective colour evaluation of multi-coloured surfaces 

during the running production process. Ten years after the premiere of the ACMS colour measurement 

system, which is now in use worldwide, IPAC has now launched a tool for inline colour measurement, 

which has been in practical use for just a few weeks. 

With the ACMS colour measurement 

system, Improve Process 

Analytics and Control GmbH (IPAC) 

in Villach (Austria) developed a tool 

for objective colour evaluation of 

multi-colour surfaces, that was 

successfully introduced in 2007 initially 

by decor printers and later 

also in the wood-based panel industry. 

With the system, discrepancies between 

supplier and customer in the 

assessment by the human eye 

could be eliminated. ACMS stands 

for Advanced Colour Measurement 

System and makes it possible for 

the first time to evaluate decorative 

surfaces in the quality of the trained 

human eye and compare them with 

standards. It also made IPAC the 

technology leader for colour measurement 

of decorative surfaces. 

ACMS can be used, for example, to 

check during the manufacture of 

laminate flooring whether unwanted 

changes in colour brilliance have 


occurred during impregnation of 

the decors as well as during subsequent 

pressing. “Today, ACMS is 

the only colorimeter accepted for 

decorative surfaces for colour 

matching and certification of colour 

impression and contrast. The 

ACMS certificate has become a de 

facto industry standard,” explains 

Harald Jordan, founder of IPAC and 

managing partner. 

The managing director sees objective 

colour evaluation as an essential 

contribution to ensuring the 

production and delivery of defined 

quality at reduced costs and thus to 

achieving sustainable production. 

Improved productivity and increasing 

customer satisfaction not least 

ensure the long-term profitability of 

those companies that use the 

ACMS system. The decor printers 

The Inline Colour Measurement 

System (ICMS) allows inline 

quality control. 

were the first to be convinced of 

these advantages. Based on the 

positive experiences in the field of 

classic printing and production processes, 

the wood-based panel 

companies later also decided to replace 

the visual assessment in 

their process with the use of objective 

measurement data. 

Inline follows offline 

Up to now, however, hyperspectral 

colour measurement has been carried 

out offline, which is why, in the


With the system an objective 

evaluation of multi-coloured 

surfaces is possible. 

wake of increased user requirements 

and new technologies such 

as digital printing, the desire was 

expressed to further develop the 

system in the direction of inline 

control. 

In Fagus-Grecon, Jordan found a 

competent partner who acquired a 

majority stake in IPAC in 2016 and 

thus made the development of the 

new ICMS colour measuring system 

possible. By acquiring a stake 

in the Austrian company, Fagus- 

Grecon was also able to further expand 

its expertise in surface inspection 

and quality assurance, for 

which the Alfeld-based company 

has been known for over 40 years. 

For example, Fagus-Grecon is successfully 

represented in the woodbased 

panel industry with the 

“Superscan” optical measuring 

system, which is used for the inspection 

of raw panels and large 

decorative panels and which was 

presented at this year’s Ligna in an 

enhanced version with new features. 

“For our small company, 

Fagus-Grecon’s participation meant 

economic security and support in 

the areas of technology, sales, marketing 

and service, from which 

IPAC’s customers also benefit,” 

comments the IPAC Managing 

Director in retrospect. 

The result is a certificate that is 

made available to the customer 

and makes the dispatch of 

physical samples unnecessary. 

el producer who was the first to integrate 

the new Inline Colour 

Measurement System (ICMS) into 

the production of digitally printed 

plastic edge bandings in Brilon in 

March 2019 and thus set new 

standards in industrial digital printing. 

In digital printing in particular, 

efficient colour matching by constantly 

changing important process 

parameters such as ink, paper and 

coating plays a decisive role. 

“With the recent technical acceptance, 

ICMS is now the world’s first 

spatially resolved inline colour 

measuring system,” says Jordan. 

The multispectral inline scanner 

can be used for all conceivable materials 

(paper, foil, wood, plastic, 

ceramic, mineral) and printing processes 

(gravure, digital printing, 

flexo printing, offset printing, 

screen printing). Like the offline 

system, ICMS is able to reproduce 

the optical colour impression perceived 

by a well-trained and healthy 

human eye and subject it to a comprehensive, 

objective evaluation. 

Another customer benefit, according 

to Jordan, is fully automated 

production monitoring, detection 

of colour drifts and real-time production 

fluctuations. In addition, 

the user would save costs by eliminating 

the need for physical samples 

and the associated logistics, 

such as edge patterns or roller row 

pressing. Last but not least, the 

IPAC founder sees an advantage 

for the employees, as the psychological 

strain in the process is eliminated 

by the objective evaluation of 

the colour impression. Errors 

caused by fatigue, distraction or deception 

are ruled out by the use of 

ICMS. As the system also benefits 

communication along the entire 

value chain, ICMS is another important 

step towards digitizing quality 

assurance, Jordan is convinced. ba 

In the case of digital printing, 

the print and print head monitoring 

is visible on the monitor. 

Photos: IPAC 

Inline inspection of edges 

After ACMS had been installed in 

several locations at the woodbased 

panel company Egger in the 

past years to replace the visual 

colour assessment, it was now 

also the Austrian wood-based pan- 



Automation and high-tech 

materials for the upholstered 

furniture industry 

Every two years, Techtextil and Texprocess take place in Frankfurt. The trade fair duo offers the 

upholstered furniture industry an update on efficient production technologies and functional 

cover materials. Both trade fairs also covered the entire textile process chain and for the first 

time visitors were able, to experience production processes live in five mini-factories. 

A total of 1,818 exhibitors from 59 

countries exhibited at Techtextil 

and Texprocess (Frankfurt/Germany) 

in May (14.5.–17.5.2019). With 

1,501 suppliers, Techtextil was the 

larger event, with 317 companies 

exhibiting at Texprocess. This 

means that this year’s edition was 

attended by more suppliers than at 

the previous event. Around 47,000 

trade visitors from 116 countries 

were interested in both trade fairs 

and were able to visit both events 

with their admission tickets. 

Both trade fairs not only appeal to 

the upholstered furniture industry, 

but also offer materials and solutions 

for the automotive, clothing, 

packaging, construction and medical 

sectors. 


Automated manufacturing 

While at Techtextil the furnishing industry 

was mainly able to find out 

about new functional properties of 

high-tech fibres and available ecological 

materials, at Texprocess 

they experienced possible solutions 

for automated production in 

the textile sector in the light of five 

micro factories. During the four 

days of the fair, these mini-factories 

demonstrated how self-propelled 

shuttles supply the production stations 

and how robots not only take 

over the handling, but also carry out 

certain processing operations automatically. 

Individual sewing steps 

can also be carried out fully automatically 

in the future. 

After cutters have been cutting upholstery 

fabrics and leather in the 

Self-propelled shuttles supply 

the sewing stations at the DIHT 

micro-factory. Photo: Barth 

Automated production of a 

smart cushion with embroidered 

LEDs within the micro-factory of 

RWTH Aachen. Photos: Barth 

upholstered furniture sector for 

many years, the suppliers have 

come up with further innovations 

and further developments. SRME 

(Italy), for example, exhibited the 

world’s fastest cutter with an acceleration 

of 1 g and a speed of 120 m/ 

min. At Kuris (Germany), the single 

layer cutter “Cutty2321” is to 

achieve an output almost twice as 

high thanks to its double cutting 

bridge “Twin Bridge”. Bullmer (Germany) 

presented not only a robotsupported 

production line but also 

the industry 4.0 solution “Clouver”. 

Developed by ProCom (Germany), 

the solution is intended to make 

processes in the upholstered furniture 

industry more transparent and 

production more efficient. For this 

purpose, the production is linked 

with its digital image so, that comprehensive 

data is available for 

analysis and predictive maintenance. 

Zünd (Switzerland) exhibited 

the “S3” cutter, which is 

equipped with an over-cutter camera 

(OCC), that makes cutting patterned 

and digitally printed fabrics 

as precise and simple as cutting unprinted 

or plain textiles. The camera 

captures all registration marks simultaneously. 

If there are no registration 

marks, the OCC can also 

recognize the position of the printed 

image by means of a frame 

printed with it. The fabric pattern 

and any material distortion are also 

detected automatically. On the basis 

of reference points, the software 

automatically calculates the 

most efficient arrangement or nesting 

of the cut pieces on the textile 

web. 

Digitalization had also found its way 

into industrial sewing machines. 

The new sewing machine 

generation “M-Typ-Delta” from 

Dürkopp-Adler (Germany) is networkable 

and can be connected to 

the manufacturer’s IoT solutions 

“Quondac”. Not only does it make 

manufacturing processes more 

transparent, it also enables international 

production sites to be moni-


Trevira brought along the first 

substances from biopolymers. 

Photo: Trevira 

tored across national borders. In 

addition, the machine guides the 

user and constantly expands its 

functions and “knowledge”. 

Flexibility through 

micro-factories 

In a mini-factory, the DIHT (German 

Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research) 

demonstrated how a robot 

arm places the cut parts on a selfpropelled 

shuttle and how the vehicle 

then automatically transports 

the cut parts to the sewing stations. 

At the fully automated microfactory 

of the RWTH Aachen 

(Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische 

Hochschule Aachen/Germany), visitors 

experienced the embroidery, 

cutting and sewing of a smart cushion 

that helps the user to operate 

different applications through sensor 

surfaces, light and wireless 

communication. 

At the stand of Expert (Germany), 

visitors could also experience the 

digitally supported sorting according 

to the sewing plan. Thanks to 

the visually supported beamer projection, 

cut parts are correctly sorted 

from the sorting table into the 

displayed transport containers. A 

barcode scan identifies the cut 

part, activates the compartment 

display of the destination and thus 

also the quantity display. The information 

about the correct insertion 

of the textiles into the correct basket 

is transmitted to the merchandise 

management or warehouse 

management system with the aid 

of a data glove and the current order 

status is recorded directly. 

Conductive yarns 

Techtextil provided a comprehensive 

overview of the wide range of 

functional textiles on offer. Decorative 

and antimicrobial textiles, 

sound-absorbing elements, smart 

textiles and lightweight materials 

were to be found there. With a view 

to the “Open Spaces”, which describe 

open office architecture, the 

exhibitors presented textile acoustic 

solutions for use in partition 

walls and office partitions. The fibre 

manufacturer Trevira (Germany) 

presented special UV-stable, 

spundyed filament yarns made of 

Trevira-CS, as people increasingly 

spend their leisure time outdoors 

and outdoor catering is on the increase. 

Other flame-retardant fibres 

and yarns as well as cover materials 

were also on display at the 

trade fair. The company Ettlin (Germany) 

presented a novelty under 

the name “Decolux”: a self-adhesive 

black fabric which, in combination 

with a light source behind the 

fabric, creates three-dimensional 

light effects. In future, the fabric 

can also be applied to glass or acrylic 

surfaces by craftsmen and interior 

decorators. 

The conductive yarn “Steel-tech” 

from Amann (Germany) can be directly 

incorporated into fabrics and 

functions as an RFID antenna that 

records the number of washes, for 

example. Integrated as a pressure 

sensor in composite materials, 

such “intelligent” threads can also 

be used to record load data. 

Sustainability 

In addition to functional features, 

sustainability was an important issue. 

The exhibitors’ range of products 

and services ranged from 

fibres made of recycled polyester 

and bio-based high-tech textiles to 

water-saving dyeing and finishing 

processes. The companies were also 

stepping up their efforts to ban 

substances that are harmful to 

health or cause allergies from their 

fibres and raw materials. Among 

At Bullmer, a robot controlled 

production line could be seen. 

Photo: Bullmer 

other things, Trevira (Germany) presented 

biopolymer yarns that are 

recyclable and 100% biodegradable 

in industrial composting. Filament 

yarns made from recycled 

PET bottles were also on display. 

Special areas such as the theme area 

“Urban Living – City of the Future”, 

which deal with textile products 

and solutions for increasing urbanisation, 

offered visitors to both 

fairs additional information on future 

topics. Expert presentations at 

the Techtextil Forum and the Texprocess 

Forum were also part of 

the supporting programme of the 

two trade fairs. 

The next Techtextil/Texprocess 

trade fair double will take place 

from 4 to 7 May 2021 in Frankfurt 

(Germany). Richard Barth 

Thanks to two parallel cutting 

bars, the Kuris cutter achieves 

an output almost twice as high. 

Photo: Barth 

At the trade fair, Expert demonstrated 

digitized, automated 

sorting. 

Photo: Barth 



MoOD becomes Decosit once more 

Just one year after taking it over, Belgian trade fair organiser Easyfairs 

has cancelled the MoOD. The trade fair was originally scheduled to take 

place from 10 th to 12 th September 2019 in the Tour & Taxis exhibition centre 

in Brussels (Belgium). 

On short notice, Fedustria, the federation of the Belgian textile, wood 

and furniture industry and their associated weaving companies, have 

now launched their own event, giving it the original name of Decosit. For 

two decades, it was under this name that the upholstery fabrics trade 

fair successfully took place in the Belgian metropolis – until it was 

changed in 2008. At the same time, the Decosit will return to its original 

venue at the Brussels Expo. 

Confirmed exhibitors for the event include: Beaulieu, Ter Molst, Symphony 

Mills, Muvantex, Van Neder, Verstraete & Verbauwede, Libeco, Clarysse, 

Annabel, Kishan, Raghunath, Tapisserie Homes, Tuva Textil, 

D’Decor, GreenStreet Fabrics & Ragolle Fabrics. 

Fedustria is planning to make the event even bigger next year. While this 

year’s show will focus solely on the manufacturers, plans have already 

been made to reintroduce the designer show section of the trade fair at 

the Decosit in 2020. 

Photo: Brussels Expo 

Proposte with a new date 

Proposte 2020, at its 28 th edition, will be held on 27, 28 and 29 of April 

2020 at Villa Erba in Cernobbio (Italy). The choice of date was resolved 

when the Board of Directors of Proposte met for its renewal. The outgoing 

Chairperson, Mauro Cavelli, leaves the position to his friend and colleague 

Piercarlo Viganò and goes on to fill the role of Vice Chairperson. 

Another change in the Board involves the Directors, whereby Marco Parravicini, 

CEO of Parà, takes the place of Mr. Marco Cazzaniga. 

Seeing the success of the choice of dates for last year’s edition the Board 

of Directors has decided to confirm the three days of Proposte immediately 

in the wake of the furniture fair Salone Internazionale del Mobile in 

Milan (Italy). This means, that the Milanese event will end on Sunday 26 th 

of April and on Monday the 27 th , the gates will open to the Centro Congressuale 

Espositivo Villa Erba, the top of the scale venue of Lake Como 

that is a multi-functional and technologically advanced structure. 

In 2020 the Fair also is reconfirmed to take place from Monday to 

Wednesday and no longer from Wednesday to Friday. The Fair’s opening 

hours remain unchanged: 27 th and 28 th of April, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 29 th 

April, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. 

Photo: Proposte 

European furniture and supplier events 2019/20 

September 2019 

10.09.–12.09. Decosit, Brussels, BE 

10.09.–13.09. DREMA/Furnica, Poznan, PL 

11.09.–15.09. Habitare, Helsinki, FI 

15.09.–19.09. M.O.W., Bad Salzuflen, DE 

15.09.–19.09. Möbelmeile, East Westphalia, DE 

17.09.–19.09. Heimtextil Russia, Moscow, RU 

14.09.–20.09. A 30 Küchenmeile, East Westphalia, DE 

14.09.–20.09. area 30, Löhne, DE 

17.09.–20.09. Habitat, Valencia, ES 

18.09.–21.09. REHACARE, Duesseldorf, DE 

18.09.–21.09. 100% Design incorp. 100% detail, 

London, UK 

19.09.–22.09. Kind+Jugend, Cologne, DE 

26.09.–27.09. Architect@Work, Paris, FR 

21.09.–29.09. Interboot, Friedrichshafen, DE 

October 2019 

07.10.–10.10. Motek, Stuttgart, DE 

09.10.–11.10. SUN, Rimini, IT 

08.10.–13.10. Modef, Inegöl, TR 

15.10.–18.10. Sicam, Pordenone, IT 

18.10.–20.10. Baltic Furniture, Riga, LV 


November 2019 

04.11.–07.11. Brussels Furniture Fair, Brussels, BE 

06.11.–07.11. Architect@Work, Munich, DE 

04.11.–08.11. Batimat, Paris, FR 

06.11.–11.11. Belgrade Furniture Fair Now, 

Belgrade, RS 

12.11.–12.11. 16. Branchentag Holz, Cologne, DE 

12.11.–14.11. InPrint, Munich, DE 

12.11.–15.11. MEDICA, Duesseldorf, DE 

26.11.–29.11. WOODEX, Moscow, RU 

27.11.–01.12. Heim + Handwerk, Munich, DE 

December 2019 

01.12.–04.12. Espritmeuble, Paris, FR 

04.12.–05.12. Architect@Work, Duesseldorf, DE 

January 2020 

07.01.–10.01. Heimtextil, Frankfurt, DE 

10.01.–13.01. DOMOTEX, Hanover, DE 

13.01.–19.01. imm cologne, Cologne, DE 

17.01.–21.01. MAISON&OBJET, Paris, FR 

February 2020 

02.02.–06.02. Spring Fair, Birmingham, GB 

04.02.–06.02. ZOW, Bad Salzuflen, DE 

04.02.–08.02. Stockholm Furniture Fair, Stockholm, SE 

16.02.–20.02. EuroShop Dusseldorf, DE 

25.02.–28.02. Meble Polska, Posen, PL 

March 2020 

18.03.–21.03. HOLZ-HANDWERK, Nuremberg, DE 

April 2020 

21.04.–26.04. Salone Internazionale del Mobile, 

Milan, IT 

27.04.–29.04. Proposte, Cernobbio, IT 

May 2020 

26.05.–29.05. Xylexpo, Milan, IT 

October 2020 

27.10.–31.10. ORGATEC, Cologne, DE 

November 2020 

24.11.–26.11. InPrint, Milan, IT

Partners to the furniture industry 

Castors 

DEC GmbH 

Am Ehrenmal 2 

77709 Wolfach, Germany 

phone: +49 (0)7834 8644794 

fax: +49 (0)7834 8644795 

e-mail: sales@decgmbh.de 

www.decgmbh.de 

Castors and glides 

Mobility Solutions 

rollcontrol ® /No-Noise 

www.gross-froelich.de 

> 

Decor papers – unprinted 

Schoeller Technocell GmbH & Co. KG 

Burg Gretesch, D-49086 Osnabrück 

P.O. Postfach Box 3667, D-49026 Osnabrück 

Phone: Telefon: +49 541 3800-121, Fax: Telefax: +49 +49 541 541 3800-152 

Technocell@Felix-Schoeller.com, www.Technocell.com 

High precision tools 

Index of advertiseres 

“Quality Inside – Made in Europe” 

Hettich Marketing- und Vertriebs 

GmbH & Co. KG, D-Kirchlegern..................11 

IPAC Improve Process Analytics and 

Control GmbH, A-Villach.............. Titel, 22–23 

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1 23.04.14 15:43 

M_mt0213_KA_Technocell.indd 12.04.13 10:42 

Damping systems 

M_sp0216_KA_Wagner_e.indd 1 27.07.16 13:11 

CONTROLLED DYNAMICS 

Soft-Close Systems up to 

250 lbs [120 kg] 

Web: www.ake.de 

E-Mail: info@ake.de 

Karl Limbach & Cie. GmbH & Co. KG, 

D-Solingen......................................................9 

Kleiberit-Klebchemie M.G. Becker 

GmbH + Co. KG, D-Weingarten.............4. US 

www.simon-beschlagtechnik.de 

impress surfaces gmbh 

Decor papers – printed 

Sintering technique 

LEUCO_Mini-Logo_m+t_01.indd 1 26.08.10 08:54 

SINTERING YOUR IDEAS 

Kröning GmbH, 

D-Hüllhorst...................................................19 

Postfach 100530 | Dorfstrasse 2 

D-63741 Aschaffenburg | Telefon +49.6021.40 60 

Fax +49.6021.40 62 95 | info@impress.biz | www.impress.biz 

www.simon-sintertechnik.de 

Imprint 

m+t Ritthammer Publishing GmbH 

P.O. Box 3850, 90019 Nürnberg, Germany 

Andernacher Straße 5a, 90411 Nürnberg, Germany 

phone: +49 911 95578-80, fax: +49 911 95578-78 

www.material-technik.de 

e-mail: info@material-technik.de 

• Publishing house: 

Verlag Matthias Ritthammer GmbH, Nürnberg 

• Publishers: 

Klaus Ritthammer, Franz Schäfer 

• Managing director: 

Klaus Ritthammer, phone: +49 911 95578-10 

e-mail: ritthammer@ritthammer-verlag.de 

• Editor-in-chief: 

Richard Barth, phone: +49 911 95578-87 

e-mail: barth@material-technik.de 

• Editorial department: 

Arnd Schwarze, phone: +49 5222 23908-07 

e-mail: schwarze@ritthammer-verlag.de 

Klaus Leonhard, phone: +49 911 95578-81 

e-mail: leonhard@material-technik.de 

• Further editorial staff: 

Lior I. Yarom, Sebastian Lehmann, Andreas Steger 

• Advertising manager: 

Claus Maier, phone: +49 911 95578-84 

e-mail: mayer@material-technik.de 

• Advertising: 

Birgit Kunze, phone: +49 911 95578-34 

e-mail: kunze@ritthammer-verlag.de 

Melanie Schmauser (parental leave) 

• Sales and distribution: 

Julia Späth 

• Graphics department: 

Jürgen Kroll (head of department), Manfred Krompaß 

(deputy head of department), Uta Fischer-Kroll, 

Tanja Schwarz 

International representatives: 

• North-West Germany, Bad Salzuflen: 

Arnd Schwarze, Bussardweg 16, D-32108 Bad Salzuflen, 

phone: +49 5222 23908-07, fax: +49 5222 23908-08, 

mobile: +49 163 3160974, 

e-mail: schwarze@ritthammer-verlag.de 

• North-West Germany, Bielefeld: 

Helge Scheibner, Föhrenstraße 2a, 

D-33649 Bielefeld-Ummeln, phone: +49 521 1647544, 

fax: +49 521 77019391, mobile: +49160 6112502, 

e-mail: scheibner@ritthammer-verlag.de 

• South Germany: 

Gerrith B. Horndasch M.A., Kastanienweg 9, 

D-78713 Schramberg, phone: +49 7422 20069-59, 

fax: +49 7422 20068-58, mobile: +49 177 4377484, 

e-mail: horndasch@ ritthammer-verlag.de 

• Netherlands: Publicitas BV, Henriët Baas-Seinen, Sales 

Manager, Postbus 22876, 1100 DJ Amsterdam-Zuidoost, 

phone: +31 20 3119710, fax: +31 20 3632823, 

e-mail: henriet.baas@publicitas.com 

• China, Hongkong: Oceania & Publishing Media, 

Ms Nancy Yu, Room 1804, Building 1, No. 1 Xujiahui Rd., 

200023 Shanghai, P.R. China, phone: +86 53010479, 

mobile: +86 13636530900, fax: +86 21 33300371, 

e-mail: nancy@oceaniamedia.com 

Prices: 

Single copies € 9.– plus postage plus VAT, 

annual subscription € 52.50 plus postage plus VAT. 

Advertising price list: 

Valid No. 36 (January 2019). 

Frequency: 

Seven issues per year. 

Reprints (even in extracts) and duplication of any kind of must 

be authorised in writing by the publishing house. The views 

expressed in the articles and technical papers are those of 

the authors and are not endorsed by the publishers. 

No liability for any unsolicited sent manuscripts will be 

assumed. 

Also published by the Ritthammer Publishing Group: 

The publishing house is member of: 

International Woodworking & Furniture Supplier 

Magazines‘ Association 

material+technik möbel is a member of 

the informational association for the 

monitoring of media distribution IVW 

Q_Muster_Impressum_englisch_sp0119.indd 1 material+technik möbel – special 02.09.19 01|19 14:4327

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