One day before the opening of drupa, the print media industry's
most important trade show in Düsseldorf, Heidelberger
Druckmaschinen AG's CEO Bernhard Schreier is rather optimistic
regarding the company's expectations of the trade show: "After
three years of extremely slow investment activity and a phase of
consolidation in the industry, we observe improving conditions,
which could lift demand for printing solutions from the current
modest level." He believes that the industry has turned the corner,
expecting a slightly more stable second half of the year.
For Schreier drupa is a key indicator for the industry. He
believes that the trade show can add to the industry's accelerating
momentum. Whether the currently positive upwards trend proves
sustainable or not depends mainly on further economical
development. "drupa does not influence the economy, the economy
influences drupa," emphasizes Schreier. Heidelberg expects the
trade show to generate incoming orders of well over one
billion Euro in the current fiscal year's first quarter (April 1 to
June 30, 2004).
As the largest exhibitor in Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, will
be showing a total of 50 product innovations, in two halls,
comprising around 7,800 square meters of exhibition space - roughly
30 percent more innovations than in the year 2000. "Despite the
economic slump, we have continued to invest constantly in new
products and technology in recent years," states Schreier. The main
focus is on solutions along the entire added-value chain, relating
to the core business area of sheetfed offset printing, from
prepress to postpress. Heidelberg's integrated workflow systems
will be at the very heart of all of presentations and will be shown
in customer application demonstrations. "Our Prinect workflow
system enables an entirely networked printshop and, in combination
with the new products, provides the opportunity for customers to
reduce their costs by around 30 percent," continues Schreier. This
also marks the trend the trade show will set for the industry, he
believes: "drupa will show what a powerful, lasting influence the
rapid development of digitization is having on processes, including
advances in productivity at the man-machine interface." In his
eyes, Heidelberg solutions in Prepress, Sheetfed Offset and
Finishing, the proven networking potential and the resulting
customer benefits will provide the ideal platform for the company
to maintain its pole position within the industry. Schreier is
convinced that the company can keep its market share of around 45
percent in Sheetfed Offset, and even extend its share in some
areas.
drupa will take place in Düsseldorf from May 6 to May
19, 2004. More than 1,860 exhibitors from 52 countries will
demonstrate the latest technology in 17 exhibition halls on
approximately 161,000 square meters. Up to 370,000 visitors are
expected during the 14-day period.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Communications
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 47 47
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 69
E-mail:
thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com