drupa 2021 canceled to facilitate a “virtual.drupa” – COVID-19 leaves powerful imprints
07 December 2020: World’s leading trade fair for printing technologies drupa has to be canceled due to the effects of the corona pandemic for 2021. The next event will take place from May 28th to June 7th, 2024. Until then, the organizers will bridge the time window with “virtual.drupa”, a four-day digital event. The date of “virtual.drupa” is in the period originally planned for drupa: April 20-23, 2021.
“The pandemic has caused great uncertainty among exhibitors and visitors with regard to participation in drupa 2021. Travel restrictions and budget pressure have increasingly exacerbated the situation in the print industry, ” Erhard Wienkamp, COO of Messe Düsseldorf said in an official statement to the media. “We made this decision together with our partners, who supported this step. This was preceded by a detailed weighing process that takes into account the current framework conditions and the needs of the industry. “
The platform drupa preview, launched in October, has already given an outlook on what “virtual.drupa” will look like: Here companies will have the opportunity to present themselves virtually and demonstrate their innovations; Matchmaking can be used to make new contacts and maintain existing contacts; The conference program of the five drupa hotspots will provide important impulses and, thanks to its agenda setting, also ensure knowledge transfer online. For example, international speakers from vertical markets present successful brand stories on future technologies in the Cube and point with their lectures into the future of the industry.
“The decision to suspend it in 2021 is solely due to the pandemic situation, ”emphasizes the managing director of the VDMA printing and paper technology association, Dr. Markus Heering. “200 years of competence are rooted in Europe and must continue to exist. However, we welcome the introduction of the new digital platform as an intermediary solution until 2024. “
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