Hannover/Krasnoyarsk. The 17th edition of ExpoDrev Russia, Russia's most important event for the forestry industry, ran from 8 to 11 September 2015 at the Siberia International Exhibition and Business Center in Krasnoyarsk. ExpoDrev Russia was organized by OOO Deutsche Messe RUS, Deutsche Messe's subsidiary in Russia, and the exhibition company Krasnoyarsk Fair.

Despite the difficult economic situation in Russia, more than 120 domestic and foreign companies presented new products and technologies at ExpoDrev. The event was supported by the Krasnoyarsk region's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the city government of Krasnoyarsk, central Siberia's Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Krasnoyarsk's regional forest workers union, the trade association Drevmash, and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).

Elena Vavilova, Krasnoyarsk's minister of natural resources and environment, underscored at the ExpoDrev opening ceremony that the region's forest industry is developing dynamically and is thus attractive to investors - investment in wood processing in the first half of 2015 increased by 67 percent, reaching 2.5 billion rubles. "For this reason one cannot overemphasize ExpoDrev's importance as Ural's leading forestry fair. This is where investors experience new developments; this is where both large enterprises and small businesses purchase equipment and machinery."

More than 120 companies from Austria, Belarus, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, and the United States participated in ExpoDrev on a display area of 7,000 square meters, while approximately 2,500 industry professionals attended the fair. Exhibitors at ExpoDrev Russia represented all sectors of the industry, from logging, sawmilling, wood processing and protection to forest reproduction, all-purpose timber, small construction sites and plant equipment. Well-known exhibitors included Fuji Seisakusho Ltd, C. Gunnarssons Verkstads AB, EWD - The SawLine Company (Esterer WD GmbH), Pawert - SPM AG, Grand Forest AB, Polytechnik Luft - und Feuerungstechnik GmbH, Valon Kone (VK), WoodEye AB, Maykop Machine-building Plant, ZAO "Podyemnye machiny", and Tooling and Machining Plant TERMIT. New products ranged from 30-second complex log-processing and a wood X-ray/scanner to electronic sawmill-control and harsh-weather equipment to decorative wood treatment and waste reduction. Under the leadership of the Krasnojarsk region, seven investment projects worth more than €25 million were presented at the fair.

One of the main topics at ExpoDrev's business program was bioenergy development. The conference "Natural, ecological and economical aspects of bioenergy" featured experts discussing the current situation as well as further prospects for renewable resources and recycling lumber waste; a proposal to development a national bioenergy market was applauded. In his welcoming speech, Yuri Panchuk, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, Krasnoyarsk Region, noted that recycling sawmill waste, logging and bioenergy development are among his priorities: "The Krasnoyarsk region accumulates huge amounts of wood waste, which results in serious risk of forest fires and numerous environmental problems." Rüdiger Staib, a member of Germany's Center for Forestry Competence (KWF), talked about central European bioenergy development, noting that in Germany, using wood fuel as a source of renewable energy is a priority at the state level.

ExpoDrev Russia also hosted a meeting for the interregional association Sibirskoye soglashenie's department of staff training as well as roundtables on such topics as "Forestry enhancement: importance, reality, perspectives", "Using innovative technologies in forestry operations", "Managing leased forests in the Krasnoyarsk region: problems and solutions", "Ways to improve forest-management efficiency in order to preserve and protect forests." The seminar "Accounting for wood processing companies - from raw material to financial results" rounded out the program.

In 2016 ExpoDrev Russia will introduce a new platform that shows forestry machinery in action. This is the result of a meeting at this year's event where the ExpoDrev organizers, Germany's advisory board for forestry and forestry technology (KWF), and managers from Divnogorsk Forestry Technical College decided as part of an "ExpoDrev Day" to stage a live demonstration area at the college for forestry machinery such as loaders, hydraulic cranes, harvesters, and forwarders. According to Sergey Sobolev, director general of Krasnoyarsk Fair, the new concept is unique in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.

ExpoDrev Russia 2016 will run from 6 to 9 September at the Siberia International Exhibition and Business Center in Krasnoyarsk.