To counter industry rumours about the biggest graphic arts show in the world moving to a three year cycle, a twenty-member drupa committee has decided that drupa will continue its four-year cycle length at at its constitutive session held on 2 November 2012. The trade show has been shortened to 11 days.
A key factor in this decision was the international trade fair calendar that is built around the four-yearly cycle of drupa as the world’s most important trade fair for the print and media industry. '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,' said Kai Buntemeyer, Chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and President of Global Print.
Founded in 2008, the international association Global Print promotes the global exchange of information on developments in the print and paper industries. In addition to those from Germany, Global Print includes print and paper associations from the USA, China, Japan, India, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, who together make up nearly a quarter of the world market for printed products.
The drupa committee decided to shorten the length of the fair to eleven days – so it will run 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 Dusseldorf. 'At this year’s drupa, 78% of the international visitors and 52% 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 eleven days we perfectly cater to the needs of both supply and demand.'
The second major item on the agenda of the constitutive session concerned personnel. The body unanimously appointed Claus Bolza-Schunemann, 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,' said Bolza-Schu?nemann.
Dr. Jurgen Vutz, CEO at Windmöller & Hölscher KG was confirmed as Vice Chairman and 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.
The drupa committee represents the entire technology spectrum – from pre-media and print through to further processing, packaging production and paper processing.
DRUPA 2016
www.drupa.com
