drupa, print media trade fair, will maintain its Olympic 4-year cycle. This decision was made by the 20-member drupa committee at its constitutive session held on November 2, 2012. A key factor in this decision was the international trade fair calendar which is put together around the four-yearly cycle of drupa as the world’s most important trade fair for the print and media industry. “Many innovative exhibitors and their successful customers would very much like a more frequent event. However, the supplier industry plans its entire trade fair marketing activities within a global concept. Dependable planning is of the utmost importance here in view of the current economic climate and the situation in international sales markets,” explained Kai Büntemeyer, Chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and President of Global Print. Founded in 2008, the international association Global Print promotes the global exchange of information on developments in the print and paper industries. In addition to associations from Germany, Global Print includes print and paper associations from the U.S., China, Japan, India, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Together, they make up nearly a quarter of the world market for printed products.

   The drupa committee also decided to shorten the length of the trade fair to eleven days – the new show dates are May 31 – June 10, 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany. “Visitor structure at drupa has changed. While in the past large groups travelled to the trade fair – preferably at the weekend – drupa is now increasingly developing into a  B2B fair with a high proportion of top decision-makers,” said Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. “At this year’s drupa, 78% of the international visitors and 52% of German visitors came from the top management; respectively this is 4% and 5% more than in 2008. This makes it unnecessary to hold drupa during two weekends. With eleven days – one weekend and nine working days – we perfectly cater to the needs of both supply and demand.”

   The second major item on the agenda of the constitutive session concerned personnel. As in 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2008, Koenig & Bauer will once again provide drupa’s Chairman. The body unanimously appointed Dipl.-Ing. Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, as the Chairman of drupa 2016. “I am delighted to assume the Presidency at such an exciting time. Our sector is developing at a rapid pace and drupa 2016 will represent a key milestone on the path into the future,” stated Claus Bolza-Schünemann.

   Dr. Jürgen Vutz, CEO of Windmöller & Hölscher KG was confirmed as Vice Chairman and thus Chairman of the Admissions Committee and Rolf Schwarz, President of the German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.) was confirmed as the Second Vice Chairman of drupa 2016.

   The drupa committee represents the entire technology spectrum – from pre-media and print to further processing, packaging production and paper processing. Users are also represented by media service providers – as are the five most important sector associations:

Ø  Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Frankfurt
http://www.vdma.org

Ø  German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien – bvdm), Wiesbaden
http://www.bvdm-online.de

Ø  Paper-Processing Trade Associations (Wirtschaftsverbände Papierverarbeitung – WPV), Darmstadt
http://www.vvk.org

Ø  German Pulp and Paper Association (Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken – VDP), Bonn
http//www.vdp-online.de

Ø  German Printing Ink Industry Association (Verband der Druckfarbenindustrie – VdD) within the Association of the Mineral Pigments Industry (Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e.V.), Frankfurt
http//www.vdmi.de

   For further information on visiting or exhibiting at drupa 2016, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: [email protected]; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/Printing_MDNA

   For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at (866) 674-3476; Fax: (212) 674-3477; E-mail: [email protected]; www.traveltradeint.com