Page 45 - Plastics news December 2023

The Drupa team included Dr An- Dr Andreas Plabke, CEO of Koenig & participation. The Top 10 exhibitors
dreas Plabke, CEO Koenig & Bauer Bauer and president of Drupa, said in include 74 from India, which has dou-
and president, Drupa; Sabine Gel- his presentation that one must look bled from 42 in 2016, with a net space
dermann, director, Drupa (Messe into the best possible crystal ball vi-
Düsseldorf), Germany; Dr Thomas sion and visualise how the business
Schiemann, member of the board of environment will be three to five
management at VDMA Printing and years from now. "You must anticipate
Paper Technology; and Millie Contrac- where the world will be in five, seven
tor of Messe Düsseldorf. or ten years. Hence, the major deci-
The event presented current technol- sion of buying equipment means that
ogy and sustainability trends in print- you must operate it for 5-8 years to
ing and packaging. We all know that make the best out of it. That's what is
Drupa 2024 is taking place after a gap needed for an investment, and that is
of eight years, as the 2020 edition had one of the things we want to deliver."
to be first postponed to next year be- Dr Plabke said, packaging, sustain- of 4,618-sqm. "China, with 291 exhib-
fore it was cancelled due to the Cov- ability, digitalisation, and geo-political itors, is the biggest, while Germany,
id-19 pandemic. challenges will influence the printing with 252 exhibitors, and is the second
biggest exhibitor contingent."
At the Mumbai Drupa 2024 yatra, industry. And what are the factors
Amit Shah, president of Bombay Mas- that will push the industry forward? HP is the biggest exhibitor and has
ter Printers Association (BMPA) and "Keep an eye on regulations, big in- booked Hall 17, while Koenig & Bauer
Prakash Canser, president of Mumbai ternational brands, young generation has booked its presence in Hall 16.
Mudrak Sangh (MMS), were given the (who may not accept plastic), digitali- Besides the Drupa show, there will
honour of introducing the show to the sation and big population and growth also be side shows such as Drupa
audience. The duo briefly explained of the middle class." Cube, Drupa next age (DNA), touch-
how to spend time at Drupa and what Dr Plabke explained how internation- point packaging (TPP), touchpoint
to look for. "Look at innovation be- al brands, the big population and the sustainability (TPS) and touchpoint
yond plastic – innovation and sustain- rise of the middle class will translate textile (TT).
ability have become indivisible in the into growth for the print industry. "In- Dr Thomas Schiemann, the mem-
food segment; look at raw materials, ternational brands have one thing to ber of the board of management at
alternatives before recycling; and how protect. That's the brand name. An VDMA Printing and Paper Technology
to tackle supply chain challenges," was Adidas sticker makes the box of shoes sharing the industry's current status,
the message. USD 100 more expensive." He added, said there is high pressure for trans-
"The number of people with income formation. "Key drivers are digitalisa-
of USD 20,000 will primarily consume tion, sustainability. Major market de-
packaged food, beverages and other velopments include increased paper
higher-quality goods; will use highly applications and stagnation of paper
decorated commercial printed prod- production."
ucts; and can afford to pay more at-
tention to sustainability. All these will Citing Smither's report, Schiemann
drive the growth of the industry." The said that among the segments, the
printing industry employs about four- world labels and packaging, grow-
ing at a CAGR of 3.5 in 2018-23,
The Drupa exhibition will be hosted million employees, with revenue of will grow at 2.9 from 2023 to 2028.
in 17 halls from 28 May (Tuesday) more than USD 950-billion globally "However, in Asia, this print market
to 7 June (Friday) 2024, with exhibi- and a growth rate of 4%. number is good news. The market
tors from 50 countries occupying Sabine Geldermann, director, Drupa will grow from CAGR 1.5 in 2018-23
1,40,000-plus sqm of space spread (Messe Dusseldorf), Germany, in- to CAGR 2.9 in 2023-28
across 17 halls. formed that 50 nations had confirmed

PLASTICS NEWS 4545
December 2023 PLASTICS NEWS