World Reflection –Polischuk
The drupa trade fair, held in Düsseldorf every four years, is truly an international affair. Because it focuses on the global printing industry, drupa becomes a genuine reflection of the world at large. This really jumped out at me as I read the show review from Messe Düsseldorf North America (MDNA), the North American arm of the show’s organizer.
For starters, it reported attendance of 314,500 industry participants from more than 130 countries. Considering that the United Nations lists 193 member, 130 is a pretty significant representation. drupa 2012 did have a fairly significant drop in attendance versus the previous event—75,500 less than 2008 (almost 20 percent)—but that’s not the least bit surprising. MDNA noted the decrease in the printing sector as a whole in the past decade, with 3,900 fewer companies in Germany alone (7,700 fewer in the U.S.).
The decrease in attendance could also be a reflection of the teetering world economy, particularly the economic turmoil occurring in Europe. It’s not only in recession, it’s in crisis mode, with the deteriorating economic and political environments in Greece, Italy, and Spain threatening the validity of the Euro currency. While drupa is an international forum, it is still dominated by European (and even German) participation. (Note that MDNA reported 123,000 visitors from Germany, with India coming in second with 15,000.) It would be no great surprise that the business climate in Europe played a part in holding back attendance.
Before you get the wrong idea, drupa 2012, was a very successful show. There were a lot of business transactions at the show, with a visitor survey indicating close to 50 percent placing specific orders, and a raft of company press announcements about sales on the show floor. (Staged events, for sure, but business none the less.) And to put the attendance in perspective, most events would drool at the possibility of 75,500 no-shows. Labelexpo Americas 2010, a successful show in its own right, reported its attendance at 12,761.
In addition, there were any number of significant product and technology announcements, with packaging having a prominent foothold at drupa 2012. MDNA reported automation, package printing, digital printing, and hybrid technologies as being dominant themes at the show, with 40 percent of visitors reporting interest in digital printing systems.
drupa will continue every four years to be a reflection of the world stage. Just as in the past four years, a lot can, and will, change by 2016. It seems like it’s so far off, but then, so did Orwell’s book, 1984, back when I read it.
Tom Polischuk, Editor-in-Chief
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