Darmstadt, 31 October 2004 – After the success of IfraExpo 2004 that was held from 11 to 14 October 2004 for the 14th time in Amsterdam, Ifra, the world’s leading organisation for newspaper and media publishing, announced the date for a return of the “Annual Event of the Newspaper Industry” in two years’ time to the capital of the Netherlands: from 9 to 12 October 2006. Next year, IfraExpo will take place for the second time in Leipzig: from 17 to 20 October 2005. Exhibitors, including once again Agfa, Fujifilm and MAN Roland, have already taken options on more than 10,000 m2 stand space. The number of exhibitors at IfraExpo 2004 – despite the continuing difficult economic environment – totalled 278 (2003 in Leipzig: 310). These came from 19 (20) countries to show their products and services on 12,703 (16,012) m2 floor space in four halls of the RAI exhibition centre. In addition to the traditional companies, this year saw the participation of 44 (69) first-time exhibitors. Besides proven industry solutions, a total of 60 (65) suppliers informed about their “IfraFirsts”. An “IfraFirst” is a product whose first public showing is at an IfraExpo. A total of 8628 (9059) visitors from 71 (72) countries came to Amsterdam (Leipzig). A breakdown by country reveals the following levels of participation: the Netherlands (18 %), Germany (17 %), France (11 %), United Kingdom (8 %), Finland (5 %), Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (4 % each), Switzerland and Spain (3 % each), Austria (2 %) as well as Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia and the U.S.A. (1 % each of visitors). The fact that IfraExpo 2004 not only satisfied expectations but even surpassed them is reflected in the statement of one exhibitor: “We were busy during the entire exhibition – amazingly right away from Monday, 10 a.m. It may possibly be a bit quieter today, but that gives us an opportunity to meet other manufacturers and discuss joint projects. IfraExpo is definitively THE community for the newspaper industry.” Ifra expressed satisfaction also with its second global production conference, “Excellence in Production”, the international meeting place for business and technology, in which 160 (2003: 144) persons participated during two days, as well as with their other specialised events which accompanied the exhibition and were also well attended. Attendance at IfraExpo on the final exhibition day was somewhat affected by the nationwide strike called by the Dutch trade unions that especially paralysed the railways. Ifra, in cooperation with the Leipziger Messe GmbH, will offer additional charter flights and group trips to IfraExpo 2005 in order to facilitate visitor and exhibitor access to Leipzig. Moreover, the organisers are especially keen to attract groups of visitors from the economic growth regions in East Europe, for whom special group travel arrangements will also be offered. New Ifra Board: The new Ifra Board was elected at the General Assembly of Members held during IfraExpo in Amsterdam on 13th October 2004. New Board members are: – Gérard Démocrate of SPPP Société professionelle des papiers de presse in Paris, F; – Lutz Glandt of the WAZ media group in Essen, D; – Terry Grote of Independent News & Media Ltd. in London, GB; – K.N. Shanth Kumar of The Printers Mysore Ltd. in Bangalore, IND, and – Khun Pichai Chuensuksawadi of The Post Publishing Public Co. Ltd. In Bangkok, THA. New Ifra personnel: Michael Heipel (37), director of exhibitions and responsible for IfraExpo since 1st October. A native of Hessen (the German state in which Ifra headquarters is located), Heipel has spent a large part of his professional career in exhibition marketing, most recently working as a product manager for the Cologne exhibitions company, Koelnmesse. In this capacity, he was responsible for events such as HomeTech, the international trade fair for home appliances; Carbon Expo, the global carbon market fair and conference; communicate!, the IT and telecommunications event, and IMB, the international exhibition for apparel production technology and textile processing. He also previously worked as senior project manager at Sponsor Partners, an agency for public relations, sponsoring and events, which develops and organises international sponsoring projects and PR events for customers such as Volkswagen, Deutsche Post and Holsten Pilsener. Michael Heipel can be contacted by telephone at +49.6151.733-781 or through e-mail at [email protected]. Olivier Bourgeois appointed director of Ifra South-West Europe with effect from 1st October. The name Olivier Bourgeois will be familiar to many Ifra members in the French-speaking regions, as for the last two years he has held the position of project manager for the new printing centres of the Le Progrès group (Chassieu and Saint-Etienne, representing an investment of EUR 52 million). Previous to this, he worked as traffic manager and quality manager at the ad-space selling company, Publiprint-Le Progrès. He also held the position of technical director for the freesheet subsidiary of the Le Progrès group. Olivier Bourgeois is a trained engineer and holder of a management degree. He is well acquainted with Ifra through his activities as a member of the Operations Committee (OC). He has also participated in working groups attached to the French Regional Daily Newspaper Association SPQR and of the Group of Major Regional Newspapers GGR. Olivier Bourgeois can be contacted by telephone at +33.478147988 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Frédéric Mélis works for Ifra as a consultant and trainer since 1st September. Together with Luc Jonqueur, his focus is mainly on the French market. Before this, worked as an external consultant. Frédéric Mélis can be contacted by telephone at +33.689883055 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Dr. Kristina Sabelström Möller is active since 1st September in the field of Editorial Development (Newsplex) at the Ifra Nordic office. Kristina Sabelström Möller can be contacted by telephone at +46.8.6924670 or by e-mail at [email protected].