With the HOLZ-HANDWERK exhibition in Nuremberg, one of the big trade fairs of the woodworking industry took place again as an in-person event after a long break due to the Coronavirus. Even though HOMAG adequately bridged the interim period with online trade fairs, a live event with personal encounters is still something else. Machines that you can touch, the smell of wood in the air, and personal interactions: The atmosphere was great on all four days of the trade fair.
A total of 28,500 visitors from more than 100 countries attended the combined HOLZ-HANDWERK and FENSTERBAU FRONTALE exhibition. As expected, the attendance was lower than at the last trade fair in 2018, but there was still a significant amount of high-quality contacts and discussions at the HOMAG booth.
Booth with many attractions
The focus of our trade fair appearance was on complete solutions that meaningfully facilitate craftsmanship in every workshop. On 1,700 sqm of booth space, HOMAG presented a balanced cross-section of its product portfolio, accompanied with live stage shows, interactive touchpoints, and genuine world premieres. HOMAG also showed what modern workshops need: Efficient machines and digital solutions that enable both automated furniture production and the manufacture of individual components. In addition to new products such as the DRILLTEQ V-310 vertical CNC machining center or the CENTATEQ N-210 nested-based CNC machine, which were shown live for the first time, there were also used opportunities for product presentation afforded by digital technology.
One of the highlights was the hybrid product presentation of the virtual panel storage system using the SAWTEQ B-300 panel dividing saw. Thanks to iVP (Intelligent Virtual Planning), HOMAG designed and displayed the STORETEQ panel storage system 1:1 on a screen hanging above the panel saw. iVP was also used to demonstrate the digital twin of the DRILLTEQ V-310. In both cases, visitors were able to experience virtual three-dimensional copies of the product, both on the touch display, on VR (Virtual Reality) glasses or directly on their smartphones. They could then make the comparison to the physical machine a few meters away – a hybrid success model that will be remembered.
Digital solutions are in demand
Interest in digital solutions, whether for industry-level production or craftspeople, continues to grow significantly This became apparent at stations within the HOMAG stand where machine-related software such as woodWOP 8 and woodStore 8 or digital assistants such as ServiceBoard, ServiceAssist and the new digital job folder productionManager were presented. Additionally, this also became apparent by the interest shown for the digital experience path. Step by step, interested persons clicked their way through the applications on touch displays, thus developing an almost playful understanding of the functions of the respective application.
Visitors received basic information on the event stage during presentations and live shows. The information became more specialized at the individual workstations. There, HOMAG used iVP, among other things, to recreate the real workshop situation of individual craft businesses by virtually visualizing their workshop. This made it possible to discuss workshop concepts and test out the modularity of HOMAG machines.
Valuable personal contacts
It has become apparent how important and pleasant personal contact is – when reuniting with long-standing customers and partners, as well as when making initial contact with potential new customers. Interested visitors were able to receive direct intensive advice and were able to discuss specific concerns immediately with the HOMAG experts. At the press conference, there was also another personal exchange with over 30 press representatives.
A successful trade fair is always a joint effort of teams from all areas of the company based on market-oriented products. The positive feedback from customers is a great motivation for all HOMAG employees and an incentive for the future.
HOMAG is already looking forward to the next major live events: The HOMAG Treff 2022 in Holzbronn from September 27 to October 1, 2022, and the WEINMANN Treff from November 16 to 17 in St. Johann-Lonsingen. Here, there will once again be the opportunity for personal exchange.
