drupa’s virtual trade fair opens today

As anticipated, drupa officially launches its virtual presence today (October 27, 2020). The virtual drupa is designed to serve as a springboard to greater things. It appears to be more of a ‘preview’ of the physical show, which is scheduled to be organised from April 20-28, 2021 at Dusseldorf, Germany, despite the worsening COVID-19 situation in Europe. The digital format ‘drupa preview’ provides a preview of the next live drupa event with its three areas ‘Exhibition Space’, ‘Conference Area’ and ‘Networking Plaza’. Exhibitors will present their companies and products, speakers will give insights into the drupa agenda setting and visitors and exhibitors will already be able to interact and network.

With this new digital offering, drupa provides the industry with continuous exchange and knowledge transfer. A panel discussion with Sabine Geldermann, Director of drupa and Global Head of Print Technologies; Dr Markus Heering, Managing Director of German Printing and Paper Technology Association (VDMA) and Dr Christian Plenge, Executive Director Digital at Messe Düsseldorf, presents the new platform and address the current situation in the industry.

Dr Markus Heering, Managing Director of German Printing and Paper Technology Association (VDMA), says, “We need the virtual part. It’s an investment in the future of #drupa! We can’t turn back to a normal physical fair. In the future we’ll have a mixture, a combination of physical & virtual, and this is an add-on for exhibitors and visitors alike.

In his video message, Andreas Pinkwart, State Minister for Economic Affairs, Digitisation, Innovation and Energy in Government of Minister-President Armin Laschet, describes the virtual drupa preview as an important step to get back to normal business and wishes the global print community every success in doing so!

Signifying the unique spirit spread at virtual drupa and how it can be transferred digitally, Sabine Geldermann, Director of drupa and Global Head of Print Technologies, conveys, “Yes, you might build up a bit of it on the digital channels but it’s a whole different experience.” In this context, Dr Markus emphasises the importance to accept the present conditions to accept the new normal for a restart.