Heidelberg and drupa are in a stand-off over the press giant’s appearance at the mother of all trade shows, where the world’s biggest press manufacturer has always taken the whole of Hall 1 – and until recently the whole of Hall 2 as well.
ProPrint can reveal that Heidelberg may not sign for Hall 1 at the next show, and may not have a booth at all. New Heidelberg chief executive Dr Gerold Linzbach says only that the company will be at drupa ‘in some form’, but this could be on the stand of one of its digital partner companies Fujifilm or Ricoh.
The company has pulled out of virtually all trade shows recently bar those in China, including Pacprint in Melbourne last year, producing much-needed significant cash savings in the process.
The two sides are now locked in a game of who blinks first, with each party believing it has the most to offer – drupa in drawing 350,000 printers to the exhibitors and Heidelberg in being the major drawcard for the show.
The deadline for signing up for the May 2016 expo is at the end of this year. If Heidelberg does sign it is likely to be at a heavily discounted rate.
Heidelberg’s negotiators are aware of the enormously negative impact on drupa the iconic brand would have by not attending – it has been the anchor exhibitor for the past 50 years – while drupa believes it alone provides the global audience that the company needs.
Heidelberg shocked the print world when it withdrew from this year’s Ipex, but was almost immediately joined by every other major exhibitor stampeding out of the door, killing off the show which limped into action last week but which has virtually no chance of taking place again.
The costs for Heidelberg being at drupa have never been publicly revealed, but when all is added up they are thought to be in excess of EU20m, and in its current cash strapped state the company’s bean counters are considering all options.
Heidelberg usually has up to 1500 staff on the stand over the course of the show, which adds up to around 12,000 hotel nights, or about EU5m in hotel costs alone.
The Dusseldorf Messe Centre, which hosts drupa, is owned by the local city council, which was behind the recent push to put drupa on a three year cycle instead of the current four years – a move strongly resisted by the exhibitors.
The council is thought to be under pressure from local businesses to increase the number of visitors to the city, and there is, or has been, no bigger event than drupa.
Until two years ago it would have been simply unthinkable for drupa to take place without Heidelberg, that it is even under discussion shows how far the world has changed.
If Heidelberg doesn’t attend the show other manufacturers may follow suit, certainly manroland – which currently has a policy of focusing on its existing customers – would welcome the move with new owner Tony Langley on record as stating his scepticism of the value of exhibitions. KBA has just suffered a EU130m loss so likewise may not be averse to skipping the 2016 drupa.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter