Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberg says the level of incoming orders during the show indicates that confidence within the industry in returning. He says, “The volume of orders at the show is therefore equivalent to around half of the production of printing units over the past financial year.

“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.”

Heidelberg explains that alongside Germany, investment volumes in the Asian markets, in particular Japan and China, remained high or recorded significant growth. The other countries in this region also exhibited pleasing levels of investment in Heidelberg solutions.

The emerging markets of South America, especially Brazil, also followed on from the incoming orders of recent quarters. Developments in the US were also satisfactory, with incoming orders ranking third among the individual markets. France, Russia, and the Middle East also recorded increases in order volumes.

Schreier adds, “Particularly the development in countries such as the U.S. and Japan fills us with optimism and exceeds our expectations. Many print shops have used drupa to thoroughly renew their machine park so as to be able to meet the requirements of the market.”

Heidelberg is due to publish its 2011-12 financial year results on June 14.

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