The key to a successful visit is preparation. From researching technology, to knowing how you want to structure your finance, to wearing the right pair of shoes for hiking the halls, visitors should know what they want from the show and plan in advance.
Exhibitors hope hefty investment in travel, show-stopping stands and demonstration equipment will translate into headline-grabbing sales figures to satisfy their commercial imperatives. At Drupa 2004, Heidelberg, for instance, announced a total of euro 800m in customer orders on the final day.
However, without wanting to spoil the idea that big business is being won and lost on the show floor, most of the sales are done and dusted, bar the final signature, long before the first delivery lorry arrives in the car park at exhibition centre Messe Düsseldorf. Lawrence Dalton, managing director of London-based digital print firm 1st Byte, first went to Drupa in 1980, and knows how the PR machine works for trade fair investments. Most people already know what they’re going to buy, but are perceived as making the deal at Drupa, he says.
Eclipse Colour Print managing director Simon Moore seconds this. Customers are usually just rubber stamping what they’ve already agreed, he says. But it’s still worth waiting for the show to work out the finer details. Moore adds: Going out to Drupa could stimulate the decision once you’ve seen what’s out there and reconfirmed your initial thoughts.
With most deals set up months before, what other lessons can be learned on how best to invest? St Ives group technical director John Charnock has spent heavily over the course of his four or five Drupa tours. There are a few stories of people who randomly buy kit out at the show, he says. But these stories of people spending half a million out of the blue are usually myths. In reality, most people only go to buy if they’ve already tested the kit.
Think global
However, the show does offer printers a place to haggle over the price of the latest technology. Charnock says: We go to see what’s coming, what would be a practical product in a few years, and also to talk to the chief executive and see if we can knock off a few percent. The show offers the chance to meet the big guns from your supplier of choice. Pre-arrange to meet people who you can’t see in the UK. I can’t see the point of going all the way to Germany to meet your local representative and have a coffee with them. You can do that at home.
Anton Group managing director John Knight also recommends booking ahead. His firm has notched up a reputation as a big spender at past trade fairs, such as a £10m splurge at the last Ipex and an £8m spend at Drupa 2004. Knight says: Mostly, we’ve sorted out who we’re going to see beforehand. The best bet is to make an appointment for certain. With most suppliers, you can get a time and date and they make sure the right people are there.
But if the maze gets too much and planning falls through, the organisers have provided some digital signposts – computer information terminals will be scattered throughout the 19 halls, allowing you to find exhibitors’ hall and stand numbers.
Drupa deals
Going with a game plan offers the best chance of tracking down a bargain. After planning your swoop months in advance, the show floor offers the last hurdle to a better price, and manufacturers are determined to spread the word about show deals. Knight, however, says the promise of a lower pricetag should be taken with a grain of salt. They all say they’ve got Drupa deals, but that’s just to entice you.
Charnock, on the other hand, is a believer in show bargains, where manufacturers try to recoup on their outlay, and spin up publicity, by selling as much as possible. There definitely are opportunities for show deals. These manufacturers have spent millions of pounds already. They want the big number at the end of the show to prove it was worth it, he says.
Kit sales make it worthwhile for the vendors, but seeing technological advances should be the focus of visitors, which can’t always be planned for. Knight says: A lot of manufacturers hide their secrets – they make you want to take the time to get out there. You’ll always see something that stuns you.
Losing yourself in Drupa is part of the fun. But the best experience means getting to grips with the puzzle before you get on the plane.
For more, visit www.drupa.de
FINANCE
Currency and credit
Not so long ago, we could look down with self-assurance from atop piles of sterling at our cousins across the Channel and their shaky euro. But the tables have turned as the European currency has rallied against the pound, the dollar and the yen. As a result, European kit is now more expensive. On top of this, the credit crisis means printers are finding it harder to secure finance for kit, so Drupa visitors should plan their finances in advance.
Simon France, head of sales at HSBC Equipment Finance’s print division, says preparation is half the battle. Go to Drupa with an understanding of how much your repayments will be. Pre-plan your finance just as you’d pre-plan the equipment you want to look at. Show secrets and on-the-floor deals make it hard to anticipate what a printer’s outlay will be. In fairness, until you know what the exact price will be, you won’t know what finance you’ll need. It’s a bit chicken and egg. Instability in the financial markets means printers could also be hen-pecked over securing the loan. Close Print Finance area manager David Bunker says: There’s no doubt the current climate makes the banks a bit more twitchy. Printers should have now begun to talk to their banks in advance of Drupa to make sure they’ve got all their ducks in a row before buying kit.
European manufacturers accept that shaky markets could mean fewer orders. KBA marketing director Klaus Schmidt says: We must accept that the total volume of orders placed at Drupa 2008 may well be lower than in 2000 or 2004 as a result of the current turbulence in financial markets. We are faced with having to compete with US and Japanese rivals on an uneven playing field due to the strength of the euro over the yen and the dollar.
So will the fateful combination of higher prices and tighter purse strings mean a more meagre show shopping spree for UK firms? MAN Roland UK sales director Gary Doman is sure that companies with a strong balance sheet will not struggle with finance. Unfortunately, he says, this does not apply to the majority of companies.
Kit’s cultural revolution
Drupa’s host country has dominated the wider print community since Johannes Gutenberg knocked up his first press. But Gutenberg’s masterstroke stood firmly on the shoulders of an Oriental printing tradition that goes back to the invention of moveable type in 11th-century China. Now a new breed of Asian press makers are taking lessons from their European counterparts as technology moves back along the Silk Road. And the lower prices charged by these new operators can mean significant savings.
Chinese exhibitors will be present in their droves at Drupa this year. As of mid-January, only Germany and Italy had more vendors signed up for the show. China’s 121 machinery vendors mean the world’s most populous nation has one of the largest contingents. Floor space devoted to Chinese stands has grown 300% to 7,800sqm since last Drupa – is this a coming-of-age for Chinese-made as a more attractive investment option?
Graham Moorby, sales director of supplier Printers Superstore, certainly thinks so. His company spent years investigating the marketplace in China before becoming UK and Ireland agent for Sanxin presses. We’d noticed a sharp increase in quality from Chinese manufacturers. We cherry-picked the best with Sanxin. Within the next three to five years, they’ll be a brand people recognise.
Though his support for Sanxin is solid, Moorby recognises some companies may still have their doubts. There is trepidation over Chinese kit. The ‘Chinese-ness’ myth is being dispelled now though. Going back to the early days of Japanese kit, people were pretty sceptical. But people look at quality coming out of China and say: ‘If I didn’t know it was Chinese, I wouldn’t believe it.’
Quality is one question mark, service is another. Importing a press from China only to find you can’t get parts adds a caveat to the enticement of a cut-rate price. Moorby says: You have to make sure that the product is supported. There are pitfalls. For instance, some Far East kit lacks Europe’s mandatory CE markings. Moorby adds that he doesn’t think printers should invest in Chinese kit without local support.
Ken Farnsworth, European sales manager for Chinese finishing manufacturer Masterwork Graphics, knows the risk. While his firm is represented in Europe, many Chinese manufacturers are not, and buying from those firms could spell disaster. A UK printer went out of business two years ago because of this. They were a major player, but couldn’t get the support they needed for their die-cutter and went bust, he says.
But while Farnsworth believes printers run the gauntlet of lower-end manufacturers at their peril, he is adamant that the Chinese engineering community are shaking the image of being just bootleg specialists. Masterwork will use Drupa to showcase a double-platen machine that can die-cut, foil stamp and strip in one process. People have tried to build one before and have failed. Not only are the Chinese making copies of equipment, now they’re starting to innovate as well, he says.
So while issues over quality, service and residual value mean they can’t yet compete with the upper echelons from Germany, Drupa 2008 is shaping up to be a new turning point in a printing industry dating back millennia.
DRUPA VETERANS
Lawrence Dalton
Managing director
1st Byte
When was your first Drupa? 1980
How many times have you been to Drupa? Four or five visits
What was your most memorable Drupa investment? In 2000, Indigo promised to answer our prayers with a B2 digital press. However, months passed and no sight or sound of it. We’re still waiting!
What are you most looking forward to this year? A sheetfed B2 Indigo press from HP. Well, we can hope
What’s your top tip? Good walking shoes and an ability to talk sense after a dozen beers
John Knight
Chief executive
Anton Group
When was your first Drupa? 1984
How many times have you been to Drupa? Five times
What was your most memorable Drupa investment? Ordering three 12-colour Heidelbergs with CutStars at a cost of £7.5m
What are you most looking forward to this year? To look at new innovations especially in direct mail, Scitex and digital with a special look at inkjet and how close they have come to litho
What’s your top tip? To enjoy Düsseldorf and the German hospitality. You do not have to worry where you put your towels down
John Charnock
Group technical director
St Ives
When was your first Drupa? 1992
How many times have you been to Drupa? Four times
What was your most memorable Drupa investment? A MAN Roland Lithoman with ribbon folder
What are you most looking forward to this year? Digital co-operation
What’s your top tip? Pre-planning is essential. Work out which sequence of halls you want to go to – a lot of time is wasted going to and from the same halls
Simon Moore
Managing director
Eclipse Colour Print
When was your first Drupa? 2000
How many times have you been to Drupa? Twice
What was your most memorable Drupa investment? A 12-colour Heidelberg 102 plus CutStar
What are you most looking forward to this year? Anything that adds to the service we can offer, such as workflow improvements and press innovations
What’s your top tip? Use it as a fact-finding tour and once you’re back, reflect in more detail rather than get caught in the excitement of the show
