Drupa 2012: Exhibitor feedback

Exhibitors give their feedback on Drupa 2012, which took place in Düsseldorf, Germany from May 3-16.

Atlantic Zeiser – Marcus Geigle, communications manager:
‘We didn't have very big expectations about the number of visitors but never the less those that came were of a very high quality and that is the most important thing to us. For Atlantic Zeiser it enables us to really see if our product offering hits the right point for our key industry sectors in packaging – pharmaceutical and cosmetics – and we have. The second big point is the topic of hybrid printing and for the first time we are showing a solution on the KBA Rapida 105 using our Delta system. This is proof that digital print solutions are now able to cover the same high speed and quality as offset. We are now showing that it is a reality.’

CIP4 Organization – Jim Harvey, executive director:
‘You can get more done in one day at Drupa than in a month at the office. I’ve visited most of our over 90 members around Drupa and in the dip, and everyone reports a high volume of visitors and high levels of interest. With the recent troubles over the past few years, it’s nice to see the smiles on the faces both printers and vendors here at Drupa and sense a positive attitude about the industry throughout Drupa.’

EskoArtwork – Jef Stoffels, director of corporate marketing:
‘EskoArtwork had a great Drupa. Not only did we over-achieve our targets for sales and leads, but also received confirmation that our long-term strategy for integrated end-to-end solutions integrating with other business systems is the right one. At this 'all-digital' Drupa, our industry searches for powerful solutions to become more efficient, consistent and productive. Visitors to our booth reacted very positively to Esko's enterprise solutions, and how they help to improve customer design, pre-press and production workflows.’

Flexocleaners.com – David Mausolf, chief executive officer:
‘A very good show, attendance has been excellent. Being in the dip’s Green Printing Park was a bonus, we are busy with meetings and writing orders.’

Heidelberger – Bernhard Schreier, chairman:
‘Drupa has once again clearly demonstrated its importance as a major industry trade show. As for Heidelberg, our expectations of the trade show have been more than satisfied. The fact that we have remained true to our development projects over recent years, some of which have not been easy, has been rewarded. We can now also look to the future with optimism.’

Highcon – Aviv Ratzman, chief executive officer:
‘Drupa was an excellent platform for launching the Highcon Euclid (pictured, below), the direct-to-pack concept and the company’s many partnerships. Heavy stand traffic and a standing-room-only press conference demonstrated that Drupa is still the place to be. We reached agreements with key distribution channels, gained leads from all over the world and secured a considerable amount of business, exceeding our best estimates and expectations. This was an exceptional company and product launch and we would like to thank all those companies who visited us during the show.’

HP Graphic Solutions Business – Francois Martin, worldwide marketing director:
‘Drupa 2012 has been an incredible show for HP. We came with transformative innovations and customers responded very positively enabling us to exceed our sales target for the show very early on. We also enjoyed outstanding individual product successes, especially with the new B2 HP Indigo 10000 for which we doubled our sales target. The new HP Indigo 5600 and HP Indigo 7600 also sold in huge numbers, and our labels and packaging presses did very well too. Drupa 2012 proved itself this year to be a show for all print markets where visitors come to do business around commercially available solutions. While HP clearly showed its continued commitment and investment in these markets, I wish to thank all HP customers including dscoop members for their confidence and support, and the incredible effort of the HP Drupa team which facilitated this success.’

Kodak – Antonio Perez (pictured, below), chairman and chief executive officer:
‘Drupa has been an extraordinary show on many fronts – for our industry, our customers and for Kodak. I am very excited about how our customers are embracing change and adding new solutions to create higher value pages for their clients. They have shared with me many examples of how Kodak hybrid products and solutions are the catalyst for this change.’

KBA – Claus Bolza-Schünemann, president and chief executive officer:
‘We have signed many deals with existing and new customers. However, we and the other exhibitors can only pronounce a serious verdict on Drupa 2012 in a few weeks or months when we have received down-payments from our customers.’

Kolbus – Kai Büntemeyer, chief executive:
‘For Kolbus Drupa 2012 has been one of the best so far. In terms of concrete business deals we kicked off the trade fair with cautious optimism – and I can say: our expectations have been far exceeded. We were particularly surprised at the great interest from Brazil and India. We were also pleasantly surprised by the number of concrete business deals with customers from France and the UK. To my mind, Drupa 2012 showed one thing very clearly: smart investments that increase productivity are the key to business success. For us as machine builders it could not have gone any better.’

Landa - Benny Landa, founder, chairman and chief executive officer:
‘I imagined that we would have a big impact, but what really overwhelmed me is how customers have responded so amazingly to our message, technology and strategy of partnering with industry leaders. Their response to the opportunity that Landa Nanographic Printing (pictured, below) brings with its potential to transform mainstream commercial, packaging and publishing markets has been staggering. We have received unprecedented levels of interest and orders (letters of Intent with deposit) for our family of sheet-fed and web presses, with the Landa S10 Nanographic Printing press, with its B1 format, the clear winner. Throughout the show, our stand has been packed with visitors and our theatre presentation entitled “Nano. Bigger than you think” has been fully booked days in advance.’

MGI Digital Graphic Technology - Victor Abergel, executive vice president and managing director:
‘This is our fifth Drupa and we have never had such a success like 2012. All our main customers were at our stand and we were able to conclude good business deals over the entire 14 days and even on the last two days. We welcomed to our stand top notch trade visitors from over 50 countries, especially from Asia, the USA and the Middle East and Africa. We are so happy with our trade fair success that we have already agreed to participation at Drupa 2016. Drupa is simply a good place to do business.’

Mimaki Europe – Mike Horsten, marketing manager;
‘It's hard to believe Drupa 2012 has come to an end already. At Mimaki we're proud to have been part of this milestone Drupa session. For us Drupa represented the introduction of JFX500 series, a next-generation high-speed UV-LED flatbed inkjet printer, the new JV400-LX, a wide-format printer equipped with latex ink, and the new JV400-SUV, an inkjet printer equipped with solvent UV ink. We've also received great responses to the new Easy Direct Print System, an automatic misalignment adjustment system for the UJF304 series printers. The Drupa revelation was the Landa nanographic printing system. Mimaki proudly contributed to the show's success. The dancer's colourful clothes were printed on Mimaki printers - hence the liveliness of the act.’

Ricoh Europe – Peter Williams, vice president, head of the production printing business group:
‘Drupa 2012 has been an outstanding success for Ricoh. Visitor numbers to our booth far surpassed Drupa 2008 as have the number of new contacts we have made and sales orders that were placed. The show was the perfect platform to showcase our entire, expanded proposition. We have been delighted to demonstrate everything we can offer professional print businesses – in print, and beyond. So, besides strong interest in our various new products, our innovation and environmental zones were always busy as decision makers in production printing learned more about our leading position in these fields. And how we can guide them along the transformation path that is right for them. Drupa 2012 enabled Ricoh to send out a very strong signal that the future is bright for Ricoh, and, above all, our clients.’

Toray – Izabela Batko, sales and marketing:
‘For Toray Drupa 2012 has been the best show ever with the highest attendance at Toray booth to date. The number of leads have more than doubled compared to those generated at previous Drupa exhibitions with serious customer prospects asking for technical support to convert to waterless has been higher than previous exhibitions. We had hoped for higher interest due to our live demonstrations of the clear advantages in on demand printing, but the result even exceeded our expectations with hundreds of spectators. It is obvious that printers realise that they have to diversify and broaden their product spectrum to remain competitive as printing on paper is reduced. However, many were not previously aware of the versatility and efficiency waterless UV offers, such as immediate finishing and shipping of the print jobs. Due to our live demos and kit with high-quality print samples we also had higher interest from educational institutions interested to learn about the waterless printing technology and its advantages compared to other printing methods.’
 
Xeikon – Wim Maes, chief executive officer:
‘Before Drupa I was thinking this was a huge expense and every four years was the right timing, now seeing our results I think it should be every two years.’

Xerox Corporation – John Ahlman, senior director of global experiential marketing:
‘We expected Drupa 2012 to be a great buying show, and it’s delivered. Drupa provides Xerox with a unique opportunity to build winning strategies with our customers so they can focus on their real business objectives. We bring customers from around the world to Drupa because it is the “Olympics of Printing. Our stand attracted around 100,000 visitors – one in every four Drupa attendees – and our exclusive Cirque du Soleil performances added something unique and special to the Drupa 2012 experience. Drupa is great for the industry, our customers and for Xerox.’

Read more on Drupa 2012 here