Drupa continues four year cycle; shortens schedule to 11 days
A 20-member Drupa committee at its constitutive session held on 2 November 2012 concluded that it will maintain the Olympic four year cycle.
06 Nov 2012 | 2908 Views | By PrintWeek India
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,” explains Kai Buntemeyer, chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association and president of Global Print.
At the same time, the committee also decided to shorten the length of the fair to eleven days and will now be held 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, chief executive officer at Messe Dusseldorf, 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,” he added.
The second major item on the agenda of the constitutive session concerned personnel. The body unanimously appointed Claus Bolza-Schunemann, chief executive officer of Koenig & Bauer AG, as the chairman of Drupa 2016.
“I am delighted to assume the presidency. Our sector is developing at a rapid pace and Drupa 2016 will represent a key milestone on the path into the future,” said Schunemann.
Whereas, Dr Jurgen Vutz, chief executive officer at Windmoller & Holscher 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 was confirmed as the second vice chairman of Drupa 2016.