New drupa president for 2016 Claus Bolza-Schünemann
After much speculation in recent weeks about the future plans for drupa, it has been announced that the exhibition is maintain its four year cycle. This decision was taken by the 20 member drupa committee at its constitutive session held on November 2. A key factor in this decision was the international trade fair calendar that is built around the four yearly cycle of the trade fair for the print and media industry.
‘Many innovative exhibitors and their successful customers would very much like a more regular or 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,’ explained 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.
At the same time, it was decided to shorten the duration of the fair to eleven days, meaning that it will run from May 31 to June 10 in 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.’
The committee also appointed Dipl -Ing Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, as the president of drupa 2016. Mr Bolza-Schünemann said, ‘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.’
Dr. Jürgen Vutz, CEO at Windmöller & Hölscher KG was confirmed as vice president and thus chairman of the admissions committee, while Rolf Schwarz, president of the German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.) was confirmed as the second vice president.
