Drupa organizer moves to quell 2015 rumors

- Date change referred to as fundamental issue with far-reaching impacts and profound implications that mean it will not be a rushed decision

 

- Rumors based on opinion canvassing from exhibitors and visitors over summer by show director, with organizer moving to clarify that no decision yet made

 

Messe Düsseldorf, the organizer of quadrennial printing tradeshow Drupa, has moved to quell rumors that a decision has been made to move the event to a three-year cycle.

 

Drupa director Manuel Mataré (pictured, top), who is to handover operational management of the “Olympics of the printing industry” to Sabine Geldermann at the start of 2013, has spent the summer canvassing a variety of exhibitors and visitors for feedback on any improvements they felt would prove beneficial.

 

Topics have covered the duration of the event, currently two weeks, and the interval between shows, presently four years, with the next edition to take place in 2016 according to that schedule.

 

These discussions will culminate in Mataré presenting his findings to the Drupa committee on November 2.

 

However, these conversations have led to rumors circulating around the printing industry, and further discussions to take place, suggesting that the next Drupa will take place in 2015 as the first event in a new three-year cycle.

 

Actual decisions will be announced following the November 2 meeting, and Messe Düsseldorf has issued a statement saying: ‘We are aware of speculation in the industry that the next Drupa will be staged in 2015.

 

‘Rumor and conjecture, however tenuous, gather pace very quickly and we urgently need to modify any notions which may have been inferred or conclusions which may have been erroneously surmised.'

 

The statement continued: ‘The issues will be discussed and a decision will be made at the Drupa committee meeting on November 2 and with an announcement the following week.

 

‘The industry is aware that we have been consulting with a selection of Drupa exhibitors and visitors on how the event may be developed to their benefit.

 

‘One of the topics discussed was whether Drupa should be changed to a three-year cycle. As you would expect, an issue as fundamental as this, with a far-reaching impact and profound implications, has been treated with the utmost diligence.

 

‘The process has not been rushed, nor will the decision be hasty or pressurized. We are currently examining the results of the study and it is our intention to announce the outcome of the consultations soon after the committee meeting.’

 

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