Industry reacts positively to confirmation of Drupa 2016

Package printing industry names have warmly welcomed the news that Drupa will take place in 2016. David Pittman reports

 

Suppliers from across the printing industry have responded positively to the news that the next Drupa will take place in 2016, according to the current four-year cycle of the show.

 

Speculation had been rife that Drupa was preparing to move to a three-year cycle, with 2015 being the first in a new rotation that would have had implications for many companies up and down the supply chain.

 

However, this rumor was put to bed on November 5 when it was announced that the 20-member Drupa committee had decided to keep the show on its current four-year rotation.

 

You can follow the news as it unfolded here, but established exhibitor Heidelberg, which occupied the whole of hall 1 at Drupa 2012, said sticking to the four-year cycle would help the show maintain its ‘character’.

 

Adriana Nuneva, senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Heidelberg, said: ‘We see that Drupa will keep its international industry leading character and we appreciate the decision of the Drupa committee to retain the four-year cycle.’

 

Andy Cook, managing director at FFEI, said: ‘For us, Drupa is about setting the trends for the future, and announcing revolutions and breakthrough technologies – that's what makes it exciting and worthwhile.

 

‘Reducing the cycle time could dilute this and reduce the interest and attention the show gets. It would be a great shame to see Drupa diluted in this way.’

 

As well as safeguarding the impact and appeal of Drupa by holding the next edition of the show in 2016, some noted that a move to 2015 would have proved too costly for the printing industry to support.

 

Kai Büntemeyer, chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation), and president of Global Print, said: ‘The supplier industry plans its entire trade fair marketing activities within a global concept. Dependable planning is of the utmost importance here in view of the current economic climate and the situation in international sales markets.’

 

A spokesman for KBA, a major exhibitor at Drupa, said: ‘KBA, like most big exhibitors, didn’t support the change to a three-year cycle for cost and other reasons.

 

‘In our opinion it's too costly to show high-end litho presses or post-press equipment every three years under the current market conditions with overcapacities and low margins for most suppliers.

 

‘However, heavy metal in production is a speciality of Drupa compared to most other tradeshows and a main reason for attracting hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. A shorter Drupa cycle would, automatically, have meant smaller stands and less equipment, at least for heavy-duty machinery.

 

‘This would have hurt the unique position of Drupa as a worldwide shop window for our industry. For exhibitors with smaller stands and equipment easier to install (pre-press, software etc.), it might have been easier to opt for a three-year cycle.

 

‘But this type of equipment you can find at every tradeshow between two Drupas. A production environment close to reality with running litho, digital, flexo and other presses, often in combination with the latest pre-press and post-press equipment, you will not find at any other graphic arts tradeshow in this size and completeness.

 

‘This costs a huge amount of money which many exhibitors will not, or cannot, spend every three years since other tradeshows in emerging markets like China or Latin America  become more and more important.’

 

Eric Bell, marketing services director at Goss International, said: ‘We are pleased that Drupa will stick to a four-year cycle; this is the preferred outcome for Goss and I believe for visitors too.'

 

Alongside sticking to a 2016 date, the organizers of Drupa confirmed that the show will run over a shorter period. The 11-day show in 2016, from May 31 to June 10, will run over nine working days and one weekend, rather than the 14-day show in 2012 that spanned three weeks and took in two weekends.

 

The change in duration is to suit the changing nature of attendance at Drupa, with a 75,000 fall recorded at the latest show but the volume of high-level executives and decision-makers lauded.

 

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, chief executive officer (CEO) at Messe Düsseldorf, said: ‘Visitor structure at Drupa has changed. While in the past large groups travelled to the fair – preferably at the weekend – Drupa is now increasingly developing into a business-to-business fair with a high proportion of top decision-makers.

 

‘At this year’s Drupa 78 percent of the international visitors and 52 percent of German visitors came from top management; respectively this is four and five percentage points more than in 2008.

 

‘This makes running over two weekends unnecessary. With 11 days – one weekend and nine working days – we perfectly cater to the needs of both supply and demand.'

 

Dr Jürgen Vutz, chief executive officer of Windmöller & Hölscher, said: ‘It especially became clear during the last Drupa that the first two days of the fair, as well as the weekends, were seeing very little attendance.

For many exhibitors, a shorter show will help concentrate minds and make Drupa 2016 a more valuable proposition.

 

‘We are seeing a considerable amount of consolidation in various parts of the industry as well, so this type of schedule adjustment will still provide the capacity needed to handle the number of visitors from around the world and maintain flexibility for their schedules over an 11-day period.’

 

Highcon, a new exhibitor at Drupa 2012, saw a positive reaction to its Euclid digital cutting and creasing system , which was shown for the first time at the show.

 

Highcon CEO Aviv Ratzman said: ‘This year was our first Drupa and it provided an excellent platform for launching our digital folding carton solution. We are pleased that the show will continue its four-year cycle and believe that shortening the show to 11 days will only help to increase its focus and effectiveness.’

 

Bell added: ‘The reduced length should mean a greater focus from exhibitors and visitors for Drupa 2016.’

 

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s business development manager, said : ‘Shortening the event makes sense as business owners/decision makers prepare themselves much better these days when visiting shows.

 

Axel Thien, Presstek’s president in the EMEA region, said: ‘It is a sensible decision to leave Drupa on a four-year cycle and to shorten the duration.

 

‘It aligns nicely with the needs of the industry today. I applaud Drupa for doing what is best for the industry and I look forward to participating in Drupa 2016.’

 

FFEI’s Cook concluded: ‘Moving to an 11-day show will help costs and provide a bit more focus, so of course this is a good move. We’re glad the organizers continue to gauge the opinions and views of those attending and we very much look forward to 2016.’

 

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