The new event, Functional Printing China, is being organised by Messe Dusseldorf along with the Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC) and will focus on current and future trends and applications particularly within the printed electronics market.
The inaugural event will take place in Beijing on 16 May alongside printing technology trade show China Print, which runs from 14-18 May. It is anticipated that in future years the event could become a standalone show.
Deputy managing director of Messe Dusseldorf and chairman of its subsidiary Messe Dusseldorf China, Hans Werner Reinhard, confirmed: "We’ve decided to start with a small conference this year that can run alongside China Print and in the future it will either be in combination with one of our shows or if it becomes big enough it will become its own event."
This year's Functional Printing China will comprise a series of presentations from around eight speakers, including PolyIC chief executive Wolfgang Mildner, NovaCentrix vice president Stan Farmsworth and Heidelberg’s Martin Schmitt-Lewen, as well as Chinese speakers.
Presentations at the event, for which there are 200 tickets available at €200 (£170) each, will be translated for Chinese and English speaking delegates.
Reinhard said that from 2014 onwards the event would grow in floor space to include an area for global manufacturers and consumables firms to exhibit. He said: "This is an opportunity for the marketplace in China. We want to grow it step-by-step, it’s not about having 200 exhibitors within two years, this is a niche platform that we want to grow."
Reinhard said that Messe Dusseldorf had "started a special focus" on printed electronics last year with its Printed Electronic Products and Solutions (PEPSO) stand at Drupa 2012. It has also recreated this for a range of specialist trade fairs including retail, medicine, glass processing, packaging and plastic converting.
"With Functional Printing China, functional printing is the umbrella term for the event and we highlight the topic of printed electronics within that because they have a growing impact throughout the value chain," Reinhard said. "China will be a market where a lot of these end products will be produced and they will need the machinery to do that so this is a perfect platform."
He added: "By Drupa 2016 we will have grown this functional printing area and we will see that reflected at the next event."
