Management Team: (from left to right) Edward Pfeifer, Sales Director Dealer Markets EMEA & Latin America, Heidelberg, Zeid Al Jehni, General Manager Heidelberg Middle East & Saudi Arabia, Ludwig Allgoewer, Head of Sales & Marketing, Heidelberg, Holger Kühn, Key Account Manager IST Metz and Roger Nicodeme, General Manager Heidelberg Gulf. 

• “Tradition Meets HighTech” - Heidelberg and IST Metz presented the latest industry trends to around 80 customers from the Middle East in the Baden-Württemberg House
• The Focus was on digitization, sustainability and the latest solutions in packaging industry.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and UV specialist IST Metz presented the latest innovations in Printing and Packaging to around 80 customers from the Middle East at the Expo2020. The focus was on the packaging market, the world's fastest growing market segment in the printing industry. The packaging industry in the Middle East region recorded a growth in demand of around 10 percent last year, fuelled by the pandemic-induced large-scale switch in consumption patterns and a steep rise in e-commerce sales. Above all, the shift in consumption patterns towards packaged products and the considerable increase in e-commerce demand for packaged food, beverages, health and hygiene products has led to a diverse need for packaging.

The printing industry in this region also benefited from this trend. The printing volume has reached higher levels, mainly due to the increased demand for packaged goods. Customers in the Middle East are investing in carton packaging and label printing machines as the demand for locally produced goods continues to rise. Since autumn 2021 the industry has normalized again and the growth in demand has returned to levels before the pandemic.

"At EXPO2020 we were able to underline our leading position in the growing packaging segment," said Ludwig Allgoewer, Head of Sales and Marketing at Heidelberg. “Together with IST Metz, we are able to show the printshops new opportunities through innovative technologies and digitization. We help our customers to become more productive and to further increase profitability. "

“Tradition meets HighTech”
As a sponsor in the Baden-Württemberg House of EXPO2020 with air filtration, IST Metz is represented on site and has the opportunity to hold customer events on the premises. Customers from the Middle East participated in this event. After a tour of the Baden-Württemberg House under the motto "Source of Innovation", the latest applications and market trends including the world of UV technology were presented.