2016: A Year to Remember for the Printing Industry
How time flies! With the year coming to an end, it is time to recap 2016. Our highlight was drupa 2016, no question! Its atmosphere was inspiring. This could not only be noticed on our fairgrounds, but also all over Düsseldorf and on the internet. More than 260.000 visitors from 188 countries and around 1.900 journalists from 74 countries crowded our halls during the eleven days of the show. They came to learn about technology innovations, further developments and new business lines and, of course, to discuss and network with 1.837 exhibitors from 54 countries.
How time flies! With the year coming to an end, it is time to recap 2016. Our highlight was drupa 2016, no question! Claus Bolza-Schünemann, Chairman of the drupa Committee and Chairman of the Board at Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) perfectly sums it up: “We were able to experience a highly innovative industry here in the 19 exhibition halls, one that has succeeded in moving out of the ‘valley of tears’ and grasping the future by the neck.”
Sabine Geldermann, director drupa, adds: “drupa has demonstrated its global significance and its charisma with extremely high exhibitor and visitor quality. The positive climate for investment and a significant change in mood could be felt on every day. drupa has lent momentum in order to open up new market potential for the future. We are already looking forward to the continuation of this success story and the planning for drupa 2020.”
#drupa2016: A Resounding Success in Düsseldorf and on Social Media
The atmosphere at drupa 2016 was inspiring. This could not only be noticed on our fairgrounds, but also all over Düsseldorf and on the internet. More than 260.000 visitors from 188 countries and around 1.900 journalists from 74 countries crowded our halls during the eleven days of the show. They came to learn about technology innovations, further developments and new business lines and, of course, to discuss and network with 1.837 exhibitors from 54 countries.
As the day for all our guests did not end when closing our gates at the end of the day, our drupacity program brought the drupa experience to the city of Düsseldorf. Be it an exhibition or 3D event, discussion forums or a “rolling lab”: The city cordially welcomed interested visitors to discover the trade fair themes. For all those who had to stay at home we transferred the discussions and dialogues to social media. On Facebook and Twitter the drupa community formed a big family, that was joined by a new family member during the show: Klaus!
Every day the exhibitor who tweeted the hashtag #drupa2016 the most won this special challenge cup. Our Twitter champions made it possible that the drupa newbie had the chance to explore the event in all its facets – be it a party in Düsseldorf’s famous old town or a meeting with Claus Bolza-Schünemann and Sabine Geldermann.
An Inspiring Hotspot for the Printing Industry
Since a trade fair revolves around networking we picked up our social media community at a very personal level: Every guest, who showed a post including #drupa2016 at our social media booth, got a red apple. But exchange also was among the key components of our accompanying expert events drupa cube, drupa innovation park, 3D fab + print, touchpoint packaging as well as Printed Electronics and Solutions.
Our event and congress centre drupa cube with many inspiring panels attracted 3.500 guests. Especially the keynotes of Frans Johansson, founder of The Medici Group, Silas Amos, founder of Silas Amos Ltd. Design Thought, and Shane Wall, CTO at Hewlett-Packard, were sought-after. Thanks to the Creative Day of the magazine Werben und Verkaufen our drupa cube also was a hotspot for creative professionals.
To put it in a nutshell: 2016 was a year to celebrate for the printing industry. What were your highlights and what are you looking forward to the most with drupa 2020 in mind?
