On 15 October 2019 the Holz 2019 was officially opened. Kilian Ziegler, the two-time Swiss champion in poetry slam, accompanied the supporting programme and the presentation of the Innovation Award Holz 2019.
Following the official opening, the Innovation Prize 2019 was awarded. HAWA Sliding Solutions AG was delighted to be awarded first place this year. HAWA was able to convince the jury with its hardware system for soundproof sliding doors that operate practically noiselessly. 2nd place went to Timber Structures 3.0 with TS3, a revolution in timber construction, large wooden surfaces that support concrete as well as concrete. The bronze medal went to the Format-4 glueBox edge banding machine from HM-Spoerri and the Felder Group.
The innovative development of the wood creates a very good atmosphere and more visitors.
With 35,005 visitors, Holz demonstrates the importance of the trade fair in the woodworking industry. Feedback from exhibitors and first results of the independent visitor survey confirm the role as the leading industry platform for professionals from trade, commerce and the woodworking industry in Switzerland.
“We were able to present the latest products and our services to the numerous interested trade visitors at Holz 2019. The Holz Messe is the ideal platform to learn about the latest needs of our customers in discussions”. Andreas Valadi, Head of Marketing, KOCH Group
“At Holz we have very high quality contacts with the right people. The customers are very interested. In general, wood has developed very positively. Accompanying events such as the Tiny House are also making wood more popular. We will be back again”. Peter Trachsel, managing director and owner, Immer AG
“Wood is an absolute trade fair. Here we meet our customers – every shot a hit. At the same time we can get in touch with new customers and maintain existing customer relationships. Eduardo Trinidad, Business Unit Manager, Permapack AG
“The wood is getting better and better! Besides interested woodworkers, we have carpenters and some woodwork engineers at our booth. Everyone wanted to inform themselves about the properties of our products, which we find very exciting. So we can make new contacts”. Andreas Nebiker, Regional Sales Manager, Flumroc AG
“For us, wood is the industry meeting place every three years. We have been able to make many good and new contacts – from person to person it is simply better. We have both the carpenter and the woodworker at our stand.” Silvan Steinmann, Managing Director, Arthur Bründler AG
“The wood has developed very positively and has a modern and innovative appearance with many highlights. At the fair we meet important experts and can cultivate our partnerships. We have noticed a positive development in the number of visitors”. Theo Stuber, Head of Sales Switzerland, SWISS KRONO AG
“So far we are very satisfied with the course of the fair. We rate the quality of the visitors as very good. We will also exceed the targeted customer contacts. We will also achieve the number of new contacts. It is also very pleasing that we will achieve and even exceed the order intake for machines and solutions. We can look back on a successful and successful trade fair”. Marco Süsstrunk, Sales & Marketing, HOMAG (Switzerland AG)
Live construction of a Tiny House, a wooden cow and many other highlights
On site, a Tiny House was built live within 4 days under the project management of Holzbau Schweiz. The erection was celebrated on Friday with carpenters, solemn speeches and a carpenter’s gossip. The Tiny House was open to visitors on the Saturday of the fair.
Matthias Gerber, Wicki Holzbau AG, won the gold medal at the Swiss Carpenters’ Championship. He won the final sprint against Lars Glauser, Beer Holzbau AG (2nd place) and Simon Werner, Tanner Holzbau & Sägerei AG (3rd place).
The winners of the carpenters’ model competition are Werner Simon, Tanner Holzbau & Sägeei (construction with lettering), Julia Uehlinger, Uehlinger Holzbau (construction without lettering) and David Lieberherr, Rüegg Holzbau (construction with simple connections). Adrian Hugener, Frischknecht Holzbau-Team AG, wins the e-voting and Adrian Epper, Zimmerei Nägeli AG, wins the staircase construction.
Lotti, the BIM cow, was completed at Holz 2019. 150 parts were provided in advance in a cloud. The companies were able to download a part free of charge and produce it themselves. At the fair, the finished parts were then attached to the wooden cow using VR glasses.
The VSSM Schreiner Nachwuchsstar once again offered young carpenters a special stage. Around 95 exhibits were exhibited and evaluated at the Holz. The new young Schreiner star chosen by the trade fair audience is Dino Hediger. His Töggelikasten inspired the visitors. The second and third places went to Fabian Schlatter and Jonas Staffelbach. In addition, a jury of experts awarded the OPO Oeschger Hardware Prize to Nikola Dukanovic and the Lamello Talent Prize to Dario Guler.
The IG Kunsthandwerk was able to welcome many visitors with its giant chessboard. The five crafts of wood sculptor, cooper, white cooper, turner and basket weaver have created beautiful chess pieces. Visitors were able to play chess live on site.
The HFTG Zug designed the almost traditional “Holz” lettering on the exhibition square. The wooden installation was based on the principle of anamorphosis. This means that the individual elements could only be read from a certain angle. In addition, the HFTG students designed and realised the stools and tables for the Innovation Forum and Networking Café in the Future Wood section.
In the special area Future Wood, suppliers of innovative technologies, materials and designs demonstrated the innovative power of the industry for the fourth time. A special focus this year was on the Innovation Forum, in which top-class presentations and discussions took place twice a day. The Bern University of Applied Sciences for Architecture, Wood and Construction held exciting practice-related discussions on the subject of innovation with specialists from companies, institutions and associations.
In addition, the touring exhibition of the Prix Lignum with architectural models of some winning models was once again part of the Future Wood section.
The next HOLZ will take place from 11 to 15 October 2022 in Basel.
