International Wood Fair (Holzmesse) is the leading trade-only marketplace for Central Europe’s forestry, saw-mill, woodworking, furniture and bio-energy sectors. The next edition, 6-9 September 2025, turns the halls of Kärntnermesse Villach into a 360° showcase of machines, tools, software, semi-finished goods and energy solutions that stretch from standing timber to finished interiors. Roughly 450 exhibitors from 20 nations and 12,000 professional visitors are expected; admission is restricted to trade visitors and students holding industry proof. The event is deliberately in-person only and is co-located with the regional building fair “Haus.Bau.Hof.” so that carpenters, architects and DIY retailers can compare wood applications with other construction materials in a single visit.

The programme is built around six thematic belts: harvesting and saw-mill technology; surface finishing and fittings; energy from wood (pellets, briquettes, CHP); digital production and CAD/CAM; prefabricated timber construction; and, new for 2025, interior surfaces & design. Each belt is flanked by live demonstrations: a fully operational saw-line will produce and grade boards in Hall 4, while a robot cell in Hall 8 will cut, edge-band and dowel an entire kitchen in under 25 minutes. Daily expert tours led by the Austrian Wood Cluster guide visitors to carbon-neutral suppliers and explain how to meet the new EU Timber Regulation due in 2026.

A 48-hour hackathon on 7-8 September invites developers to create AI tools that optimise off-cuts and reduce wood waste; the winning team receives a 5,000-euro voucher for industrial cloud services. The academic track, organised by the University of Natural Resources Vienna, presents peer-reviewed papers on hardwood drying schedules and the potential of beech as construction timber. Keynotes confirmed so far include Univ.Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller on cascading use of wood, Dr.-Ing. Katrin Friedl (Fraunhofer WKI) on bio-based adhesives, and DI Markus Klauser, who will share metrics from Austria’s first high-rise built entirely from domestic spruce. A half-day summit for vocational teachers introduces new classroom kits for CNC and timber grading, aiming to attract pupils to skilled trades. Networking is rounded off with the traditional “Holzbaumpublikum” evening reception and the “Carinthia Wood Award” ceremony that honours innovation in engineered wood products.