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Drupa Sticks to Four Year Cycle

After much considerations and debates, the drupa committee has finally restored the 4 year cycle of the most coveted exhibition in the printing industry. When the proposal of making drupa ‘a three year event’ was raised, mixed reactions greeted the organizing committee. Companies like Heidelberg said a clear ‘No’ to the idea, as they said that a 3 year cycle would pull up the cost factor, at a time when most of the printing companies were already under much sustained pressure.

“Many innovative exhibitors and their successful customers would very much like a more frequent event. However, 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,” explains 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.

Rival exhibitors were also not too happy with the 3 year proposed cycle. Reducing the frequency of the exhibition would have made it lock horns with IPEX 2014 and Igas 2015, which would have ultimately created confusion among trade visitors and exhibitors alike.

At the same time, the drupa committee decided to shorten the length of the fair to eleven days – i.e. from 31 May to 10 June 2016. “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 B2B fair with a high proportion of top decision-makers,” said Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, CEO at Messe Düsseldorf, explaining the decision. “At this year’s drupa 78% of the international visitors and 52% of German visitors came from top management; respectively this is 4 and 5 percentage points more than in 2008. This makes running over two weekends unnecessary. With eleven days – i.e. one weekend and nine working days – we perfectly cater to the needs of both supply and demand.”

Another major decision that was made was the appointment of Dipl.-Ing. Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, as the Chairman of drupa 2016. “I am delighted to assume the Presidency at such an exciting time. Our sector is developing at a rapid pace and drupa 2016 will represent a key milestone on the path into the future,” explained Claus Bolza-Schünemann.

Dr. Jürgen Vutz, CEO at Windmöller & Hölscher KG was confirmed as Vice Chairman and thus Chairman of the Admissions Committee and Rolf Schwarz, President of the German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.) was confirmed as the Second Vice Chairman of drupa 2016.

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