• drupa 2024: Industry reduces ecological footprint through innovations and digital solutions
• Touchpoint Sustainability: 400 m² special forum on sustainability trends in the printing and paper industry
• Importance of the industry will remain high in the future

Düsseldorf - Paper and other printed materials will continue to play an indispensable role in everyone's everyday lives. That is why the printing and paper industry is working hard to further reduce its ecological footprint. This will also be evident at drupa, the world's leading trade fair for printing and paper technologies in Düsseldorf, which runs until June 7, 2024 - for example at Touchpoint Sustainability.

At this special forum, a total of 30 companies under the joint patronage of Messe Düsseldorf and the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association will showcase best practice examples of how sustainability is practiced in this industry today and in the future. Covering more than 400 square meters, Touchpoint Sustainability is the place to go for all visitors who want to find out all about the role of the printing and paper industry in the sustainable transformation and discuss the challenges and opportunities for the industry.

"The key is productivity! We need to make production processes more productive and efficient. Efficiency means less energy and material consumption, and that protects the environment," explains Karl Haeusgen, President of the VDMA.

Sustainability as a business case

Combating climate change and securing our prosperity in the process is one of the greatest challenges of our time. But sustainability is also an economic success factor for companies that will become even more relevant in the future. "The more sustainable processes are designed, the fewer resources are required. This opens up enormous potential for making processes not only more sustainable, but also more cost-effective. Ecological is also economical," explains Thomas Schiemann, Managing Director of the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association. At Touchpoint Sustainability, leading industry companies such as Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Koenig & Bauer, Hewlett Packard, KURZ and the Voith Group as well as specialized start-ups will present what is already possible today and which trends will shape the industry in the future.

Mechanical engineering as a key lever for greater sustainability

The companies organized in the Printing and Paper Technology Association play an important role in the sustainable transformation of the economy and society. The more efficiently their machines work, the lower the emissions produced, and resources required by users. "Sustainability in our industry lowers our customers' production costs," explains Dr. Andreas Pleßke, drupa president and CEO of Koenig & Bauer.

The printing industry is ready for the future

With more than 4 million jobs worldwide, the printing industry is a significant economic factor. This will remain the case in the future, as the added value of its products for society remains high. The industry is growing continuously, particularly in Asia. Demand is particularly high in the packaging sector due to rising average incomes. This is precisely why the solutions presented at Touchpoint Sustainability have such a great leverage effect. With their knowledge, expertise and technological supremacy, European printing and paper machine manufacturers are at the heart of the industry's transformation. They develop and build the machines that combine the highest quality with technological progress. In this way, they play a decisive role in shaping change and enable their customers to continue to act economically and sustainably in the future.

Further information on Touchpoint Sustainability can be found here:

www.drupa.de/de/Programm/Foren/touchpoint_sustainability 

The VDMA represents 3600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and medium-sized businesses. The companies employ a total of around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. It accounts for an estimated turnover of around 860 billion euros in the European Union. Around 80 percent of the machines sold in the EU come from a production facility in the single market