LFP - Large-Format-Printing
Fespa saw 30% Germans
Monday 10. July 2017 - FESPA 2017 (Messe Hamburg, 8-12 May 2017) brought together a buoyant international speciality printing community, with many exhibitors reporting record sales. Within a highly diverse international audience from 139 countries, Germany delivered the largest delegation from a single country, with 6082 German visitors representing approximately 30% of the total 20456 individual visitors.
Of the German visitors, 1579 came from Hamburg and Schlieswig-Holstein, followed closely by print service providers (PSPs) from North Rhine Westphalia (1345). Lower Saxony and Bremen were also well represented with 800 printers, while 428 visitors travelled from Brandenburg and Berlin, the host city for FESPA 2018.
FESPA Divisional Director Roz Guarnori comments: “With Hamburg as our host city this year we expected high attendance from the city and surrounding region, but were also pleased to note so many printers making the trip from North Rhine-Westphalia, perhaps reflecting their positive experience of FESPA 2015 in Cologne. The number of visitors from Brandenburg and Berlin is also encouraging in light of our choice of Berlin as the host city for the 2018 FESPA global print expo. Their visit to Hamburg gives us a good platform to engage them with what will be on offer in Berlin next May.”
After Germany, the largest visitor groups were from the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Poland, the latter two reflecting Hamburgs accessibility for visitors from these countries. The majority of visitors to FESPA 2017 opted to visit over two days, bringing total attendance to 39224. This underlines the breadth of FESPA as a product showcase, particularly with the co-location of the dedicated event for non-printed signage, European Sign Expo.
The FESPA 2018 global print expo will take place at Messe Berlin from 15 to 18 May 2018. The enthusiasm of German PSPs towards this years FESPA event promises a vibrant 2018 edition, matched by the confidence of exhibitors, who had re-booked 80% of the available floor space in Berlin by the time the Hamburg edition closed. Consequently, FESPA has reserved a further two halls at Messe Berlin to accommodate demand.
Roz Guarnori continues: “Berlin is a popular choice in our exhibitor community, who remember it as the host city of a very memorable FESPA in 2007. Importantly, the German capital with its excellent visitor infrastructure, rich heritage and cultural offering is a world city with true global appeal for visitors.”
FESPAs move to Berlin is expected to add fresh regional audiences, growing the visitor base from the north-east of Germany as well as attracting increased delegations from northern Poland and other eastern European geographies.
Following Hamburg and Berlin, the FESPA global print expo will make its third stop in Germany in 2019, in Munich, providing a popular and readily accessible destination for visitors from southern Germany, central Europe and northern Italy in particular.
FESPA President Christian Duyckaerts concludes: “Its clear from the consistently strong German attendance at successive FESPA events in Munich, Cologne and Hamburg that German printers and signmakers value the FESPA global print expo as a world-class technology showcase and industry meeting point. With the continued support of our National Association, BVDM (Bundersverband Druck & Medien), we aim to increase our active engagement with our German community, expanding our reach to the east of the country with our move to Berlin in 2018, and ensuring that FESPA events continue to serve the aspirations of this dynamic and innovative market.”