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LIGNA 2027 is in strong shape eight months ahead of its opening, taking place for the first time without a public holiday or bridge day from May 10th to 14th.
“The industry is fully represented across LIGNA’s core segments – no major name is missing. Quite the opposite: we have even gained new companies from adjacent industries. The driving forces behind these first-time bookings are our two new formats, LIGNA.Builds and LIGNA.TruckStop,” says Stephanie Wagner, Global Director LIGNA at Deutsche Messe AG.
She adds: “LIGNA.Builds addresses one of the industry’s most pressing current topics. Modern, industrialised timber construction affects all of us. Both our long-standing exhibitors and new names are excited about the planned live construction site at the Expo roof in the outdoor area and are contributing their expertise. In addition to technology partners such as HOMAG Group with WEINMANN, System TM and KALLESOE, as well as HUNDEGGER, SCM and WEINIG, new participants such as the EGGER Group and WÜRTH will also be on board.”
The timber construction company that will build the house at LIGNA is WOLF SYSTEM GmbH, headquartered in Osterhofen, Bavaria. Directly adjacent to its company premises, WOLF is currently developing a new residential neighbourhood for employees. The project includes three multi-family buildings, several semi-detached and townhouses, as well as a seminar room. It highlights WOLF’s extensive expertise in timber-frame construction and showcases the wide range of solutions the company is already successfully implementing in modern timber construction today.
The second edition of LIGNA.TruckStop is also helping companies discover LIGNA as a new platform for themselves. Wagner says: “LIGNA.TruckStop is entering its next phase at LIGNA 2027 and is developing very dynamically. With new exhibitors such as Bosch Powertools, fischer, HÄFELE, HECO SCHRAUBEN, and SPAX alongside established names such as FESTOOL and Makita, the format is nearly tripling in exhibition space and doubling in the number of participating companies.
A key success factor is the TruckStop’s direct integration into the LIGNA.Builds live construction site. This gives exhibitors a high level of individual visibility and directly connects their solutions with the key topics of modern timber construction as well as the requirements of the carpentry and joinery trades. This combination of product presentation, hands-on relevance and thematic integration is making TruckStop increasingly attractive to exhibitors.”
Overall, as of the end of September 2026, LIGNA 2027 is reporting a very strong booking level, with approximately 1,100 exhibitors occupying 100,000 square meters of exhibition space (final result 2025: 1,425 exhibitors and 113,832 square meters of occupied exhibition space).
Concentrated industry expertise – More compact hall structure
The fact that LIGNA 2027 will once again bring together all leading players in the woodworking community in Hannover is a testament to the companies’ strong loyalty to their leading trade show. At the same time, however, the economic situation of companies remains challenging. “Some larger exhibitors are booking smaller stands due to their individual economic circumstances. As a result, the overall exhibition space at LIGNA 2027 will be somewhat smaller than at the previous event, while the exhibitor base will remain stable,” explains Wagner.
“Despite the continued challenging situation in the woodworking industry, the timber-construction-related segments are proving comparatively resilient. A positive trend is also emerging in the prefabricated housing sector – an encouraging outlook for LIGNA.Builds. This makes us cautiously optimistic,” says Dr. Bernhard Dirr, Managing Director of VDMA Woodworking Machinery.
LIGNA is responding to the changed space situation by organising the 2027 exhibition grounds in a more thematically focused way, making the event more compact and efficient for visitors. “Some exhibitors will be presenting themselves in different halls next year. This will allow us to consolidate the available space within the occupied halls and arrange companies even more systematically according to their respective product offerings and areas of focus,” says Stephanie Wagner. For visitors, this will result in a more concentrated exhibitor presentation, shorter walking distances and more intuitive navigation.
As part of this restructuring, Hall 11, which has only been partially occupied in the past, will no longer be used for LIGNA 2027. “Due to its location and structural layout, Hall 11 has in the past been somewhat less directly connected to the main visitor flows. With the new hall structure, we want to address this specifically. Exhibitors who are assigned booth space in another hall for 2027 will benefit from being integrated into LIGNA’s high-traffic core areas,” Wagner explains.
Entrance South will also remain closed next year. It is located directly adjacent to Hall 11 and attracted comparatively few visitors in both 2023 and 2025.
Stephanie Wagner summarises: “In 2027, LIGNA will be more compact in terms of its thematic structure and provide visitors with even clearer navigation and shorter routes. We are adapting the spatial structure to current market conditions and concentrating LIGNA where exhibitors and visitors actually come together.”
