The biggest surprise of Drupa, was not about new technology or deals signed, but the sudden decision to switch from a three-year cycle back to the established four-year pattern.
It meant that lanyards proclaiming “see you in 2019” were hastily withdrawn and now outdated posters were replaced. Having previously declared that the change to three years was both widely supported and necessary because of the speed of change in the printing industry, Messe Düsseldorf CEO Werner Dornscheidt had to back pedal sharply.
The switch was a victory for exhibitors, strengthened by the success of the 2016 show. They were able to argue that the four-year cycle works and that a show with three-yearly intervals could never be as strong, pointing also to the damage wrought on Ipex when it moved away from its traditional Birmingham venue.
Early on at the show Xerox’s Jeff Jacobson had caused a sharp intake when signing of its press conference with ‘See you in 2019, or 2020”. In soundings with leading exhibitors, the message was repeated: that if the organiser stuck with the three-year schedule, they would not be making the same commitment as this year, perhaps downsizing stand size, perhaps reducing the amount of equipment shown.
Dornscheidt pointed to this in a statement saying: “Drupa’s USP are the production lines and are in full operation here.
“This is one of the reasons why Drupa is such a beacon. Precisely this investment – this is what many representatives of the exhibitor community have assured us over the past few days here – they want to be at and with Drupa in the future, their No1 international industry platform.”
The move was widely, though not universally, welcomed. Heidelberg director of products, Stephan Plenz says: “From the start we have promoted Drupa being every four years. It is in sequence with other shows. For the graphic arts industry four years is the right cycle. It is the right decision.”
Francois Martin, worldwide marketing director HP Graphics Solutions Business, who had been a reluctant supporter of the move to three years, was equally forthright that four years fits with the HP development cycle. “If we came back in three years, we would have to show products that are not ready for the market yet, and we will not do that,” he says. HP would have been among those slashing the size of its commitment, risking damage to Drupa’s reputation as a global event. “It might have become just a regional show,” he says. As HP became the largest single exhibitor in 2016, occupying the whole of Hall 17, its view merits attention.
There were others, however, for whom Drupa is a major slice of their marketing activity and for whom the three-year cycle offered considerable benefit. They felt railroaded by the unilateral nature of the decision which had not been discussed in depth by the advisory committee.
Instead, the strength of feeling, both emotional and financial, against three years, as the organisers spoke with exhibitors to seek deposits for the next Drupa, provoked the swiftness of the change.
The organiser had been repulsed when first attempting a switch to three years immediately after the 2012 show when it was simultaneously announced that the duration would in future be 11 days, not 14. But a meeting of the show’s advisory committee in 2014 had voted 4:1 in favour of the three-year cycle.
While the change was widely supported, there were a number of exhibitors that felt short changed, that the decision had been made to placate some companies and because of wider concerns relating to the financial position of the city itself and how the Messe contributes towards this.
Dornscheidt himself had pointed in this direction when releasing the annual figures for the Messe. The Messe was already an important contributor to the local economy, contributing around €26 million a year to the city of Dusseldorf. In 2015, “exhibitors and visitors have spent over €700m, and the group has generated more than €1 billion in induced sales year by year”, he says. Drupa, as the largest show in the company’s calendar, would continue this. “The large number of visitors does of course create quite a buzz within the city. Hotels, catering businesses, local retailers and taxis are just some of the industries that benefit directly from our trade fairs,” says Dornscheidt.
The Messe is owned by a spread of organisations, of which the city is the largest holding 56.5%. Unlike many cities in Germany which use dividends from their exhibition centres as a revenue stream, the Messe’s shareholders have received negligible pay-outs, allowing the Messe to reinvest profits to improve the show ground.
The next of these is to demolish and rebuild Halls 1 and 2, potentially with car parking underneath. This would have implications for heavy machinery in these halls, perhaps forcing a further shuffle of locations for 2020. A Heidelberg spokesman says: “The developments at the Messe are already well known and the new approach is welcome. It is too early to say if there will be an impact on Heidelberg’s location.”
If, however, the city seeks to tap into the profits from the Messe, around €50 million in 2015, plans to spend €636 million between now and 2030 on rebuilding those halls that have not been updated and on changes to the CCD Sud conference area, might be at risk.
The number of visitors reached 260,000, short of the 300,000 anticipated and below the 314,248 from 2012, but the proportion of those from overseas, running at 76% was markedly higher. The traditional flood of German printers over the weekend was noticeably more muted than usual.
Nevertheless the show has been hailed as a success, with many exhibitors clearing their stands of equipment well before the end of the show. While pre show targets for business were comfortably exceeded for many, few matched the success of Scodix. It had anticipated sales of perhaps 25 units; in the reckoning it achieved sales more than four times this.
There was also notable success for Landa. Ironically it would be one of the companies to benefit from a show in 2019. By then the beta phase of its launch would be over and a range of presses ready for commercial sale. Even so, given the continuing interest in the potential for nanography, Landa will not be complaining.
The twin Halls 8, home to digital printing, were consistently busy as inkjet continued to encroach on continuous feed printing, and here with Canon’s i300 on sheetfed digital printing with improved quality and performance.
