36% of visitors confirm interest in digital printing in addition to traditional screen focus

FESPA China 2013, which took place from 18-20 November at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, has been hailed a success by exhibitors and visitors, attracting high quality visitors from China, Asia and further afield.

The inaugural event, delivered by its National Association the CSGIA, attracted 9507 visitors from 77 countries. One-fifth of the visitors attended the show over more than one day, bringing the total attendance to 11384.

The event drew a significant amount of visitor interest from neighbouring Asian countries. After mainland China, the largest visitor groups were from India, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, with delegates also coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan. A noteworthy number of visitors also attended from long-haul destinations such as Australasia, Europe, USA, Africa and South America.

Within China, after Shanghai, the visitor audience was dominated by printers from Eastern China, especially Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong.

FESPA’s mission to place greater emphasis on digital technologies in an event historically focused on screen reflected the interests of visitors – 34% confirmed their interest in digital, coming close to the figure of 42% who were interested in screen printing.

Managers and decision makers dominated the audience, with 51% of visitors saying they have decision making power and an additional 30% having input to the purchasing decision. 46% of the visitor audience confirmed their intention to purchase equipment at the show.

FESPA’s aim to incorporate educational and inspirational content synonymous with its other events also proved well judged, seminars were well attended and 12% of visitors gave seminars as a key reason for attending, underlining the appetite for education and guidance on best practice.

Nigel Steffens, FESPA Ambassador, comments: “We’re extremely pleased with the success of FESPA China 2013. We wanted to build on the CSGIA’s event’s 30 year heritage and make it international, appealing to visitors from neighbouring countries, so it’s rewarding to see the breadth of attendance from Asia and further afield. 70% of the visitor audience were also first time visitors, confirming the ability of the FESPA brand to refresh the established exhibition’s audience.”

He continues: “Visitors commented positively on the range of international exhibitors at the show. With suppliers such as d.gen, Epson, Fujifilm, JHF, Kornit Digital, Mimaki and Mutoh exhibiting, visitors were able to see a plethora of technologies from both native and worldwide suppliers. The scope of visitors who attended FESPA China 2013 from all over Asia, and their positive feedback supports our strategic commitment to return to China in 2014, and to continue to look for the right location for a pan-Asian event.”

Rosaria Pozzoni, Business Operation Manager, J-Teck3 Srl: “The Asian market, in particular China, is very important for J-Teck3, which is why we took the decision to exhibit at FESPA China 2013. We received positive feedback on our entire digital range, particularly on our new J-Cube RF/KF. Our stand was constantly busy throughout the three-day show, with great interest from local visitors as well as visitors from regions specialising in textile applications such as India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Pakistan.”

Arron Siu, CMYK Industrial (HK) Co., LTD: “Azon attends most of the sign & digital printing exhibitions in the region, but FESPA China 2013 is by far the best exhibition we’ve experienced. We met with a lot of interested clients and received high quality enquiries for our products and solutions. We will definitely be attending the second FESPA China event in 2014 in Guangzhou.”

FESPA China 2014 will take place from 19-21 November 2014 in Guangzhou, for more information on the event, please visit: www.fespachina.com