With a final tally of more than 22,000 visitors touching down at the 63,000sqm aviation-themed event, Fespa managing director Neil Felton called it an outstanding success, surpassing all expectations.
There was particular emphasis on substrate innovation and applications, with new features, such as the Print Inspiration Runway, showcasing everything from vehicle graphics and garments to printed electronics and interior design, all produced on equipment from some of the show’s major exhibitors.
Meanwhile, exhibitors got creative with velvet-covered cars, magnetic wall coverings and metallic wrapped double decker buses. Vendors were not only demonstrating their equipment’s functionality, but also its industrial applications – stands were awash with ceramics, textiles, vinyls, laminates and packaging.
Agfa Europe vice-president Frederik Dehing said he was impressed: "It has been great to see so many different applications. Customers live on applications, that’s what makes it so interesting."
For many of the vendors, business was brisk. HP had "an excellent show" with sales in the "millions of euros", launching both its Latex 3000, for which it made five signings even before the halfway point, and its new flagship Scitex FB10000 selling its first to UK screen house, Swanline.
HP’s director of market development, EMEA GSB Ronen Zioni said the show had exceeded expectations. He added: "We’ve also secured significant business, we’re still counting. We’ve generated a lot of interest and, importantly a lot of leads.
"Fespa works because it’s focused, which means that we can focus. Even the way we build our stand is focused on the verticals, so there’s an area for every visitor – you don’t see that at generalist shows, it’s just not possible. So we can first inspire with the targeted applications and then we show how to execute it with the appropriate technology."
Fujifilm also reported similar success with sales of its Drupa-launched Uvistar Pro8 beating the sales target of five in the first three days.
Fujifilm Europe head of communications Graham Leeson said: "We sold seven systems in the first three days to companies across Europe. The general volumes across the show were as expected, but the Uvistar deals were really pleasing."
International impact
Perhaps a testament to the effectiveness of the Fespa 2013 ‘jetset’ marketing campaign, the show attracted a broad range of nationalities from more than 150 countries. In the first half of the week the highest representations came from the UK, Germany and the US, followed by France, Italy and Spain.
Vendors also reported strong showings from India, China and surprisingly Australia.
Leeson said: "The show has been more international than we thought. With it being in the UK and not Germany we did wonder how many people would travel."
EFI managing director, EMEA Paul Cripps echoed Leeson and said the event had been a great success. "If there were any fears that overall visitor numbers would be down, that certainly didn’t apply to EFI’s stand," he added.
"It was crowded from start to finish, we generated more marketing and sales leads than previous years’ records and closed numerous deals for printers and software at the show. We feel like there is new energy in the marketplace and signs of recovery, and we’re excited about what that potentially means going forward."
He added: "Fespa at Excel has confirmed its leading role on the world’s large-format calendar once again."
One first-timer at the show was LumeJet managing director Miles Bentley, showcasing the firm’s S200 ultra high-resolution printer. He said that despite not offering wide format kit, Fespa could be a regular fixture for the company. "We’re a pretty niche product, but the market is diversifying itself hugely, and people are broadening their portfolios."
Bentley, among other UK print and, particularly, substrate manufacturers, also said that there had been a surprising level of interest from international distributors from regions such as eastern Europe, Australia and Indonesia.
Visitors with a thirst for knowledge could soak up the Jetset Conference schedule, which offered an impressive line-up of industry leaders across all five days of the event, informing visitors on sustainability, textile, digital and industrial screen printing.
BPIF chief executive Kathy Woodward said Fespa 2013 was an excellent example of the way in which trade shows should be going, offering free, leading-edge knowledge transfer and praised the vendors for their focus.
"The event took exactly the right direction. It was so focused on the customer, on product innovation. There was an excitement about it and really showed the multifaceted nature of print. It showed everything and had vibrancy rather than just being about big chunks of kit lying around or workflow systems."
Fespa’s Felton added: "It really was a powerfully international show and London lends itself well to that. The brand is now known worldwide."
Felton said that side exhibitions, including Fespa Fabric and European Sign Expo, had also been a success with a number of bookings for the latter already agreed for Fespa Digital 2014, in Munich.
Additionally he said that 50% of space for Fespa Munich 2014 was allocated by day two, while HP had agreed to sponsor the debut of Fespa Eurasia set to take place in Istanbul on 3-5 October.
"The only way these shows work is if the exhibitors have success. The major vendors were smashing targets there so I think that speaks for itself."
Fespa: notable sales at the show
- Finnish commercial printer DiPrint made the first worldwide signing for the Canon Océ Arizona 660 XTGroup 101 bought a Roland Soljet Pro4 XR-640 printer-cutter in the final hours the show
- Seiko’s ColorPainter M-64s, ‘The Beauty’, unveiled at Fespa was a bestseller, with eight sold on the first day
- Staffordshire-based Swanline bought the UK’s first HP Scitex FB10000 as part of a £1.7m debut into digital print
- Speedscreen is to install Europe’s first Durst 1012, the manufacturer’s Fespa-launched flagship flatbed, in a £780,000 investment
- Dominion bought the first Fujifilm Uvistar Pro8, one of many Uvistar sales on the Fujifilm stand
OPINION
Shows must be worthwhile for visitors and exhibitors
Neil Felton, managing director of events and exhibitions, Fespa
There’s no doubt in my mind that exhibitions still deliver something unique. Exhibitions enable visitors to understand the broader context of product developments and to compare the promises of competing suppliers in a way that’s impossible at a vendor-controlled event. They also invite exploration – the real joy of attending a trade show is discovering a product or service from a smaller vendor who may never have targeted you, but who has the magical ingredient you were searching for. Business people making significant capital investments want and need these forums to support their investigations and decision-making.
The key challenge for print trade shows is to balance several key ingredients and deliver them in a format that meets the needs of exhibitors and visitors. Events must provide a platform for people to explore innovation, but they also need to help visitors make sense of the innovation.
As organisers we need to provoke visitors to think longer term, and to see opportunities they may not have considered. The visitor should leave a show with something they did not expect – the germ of an idea which they can use to drive their business forward. These events also need to be stimulating and enjoyable – the wow factor is important.
Exhibitions are a popular sales and marketing investment for good reason. Research indicates that 86% of business directors say that exhibitions are the second most effective lead generation tool after their own website. However, as marketing budgets come under pressure to show demonstrable ROI, specialist events will gain support because they help exhibitors to understand the target audience for an event, tailor their presence accordingly and deliver a clear and compelling marketing message.
Visitors judge ROI too – they need to leave feeling that their attendance was worthwhile and will add something measurable to their business. That’s the mantra that drives the Fespa team.
READER REACTION
Dave Hennessy, operations manager, Newnorth
"One of my colleagues described it perfectly: it was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for print. It was brilliant. Everything and anything was printed and it was a really inspiring environment. It made us look at things differently, and it was eye-opening in terms of what it’s possible to print on. We went to the show as a field trip to look at some of the different wide-format technologies available and how they could benefit our customers. We also spent some time looking at the environmental implications of UV versus solvent."
James Sahota, managing director, Group 101
"I thought it was a fantastic show, very informative and really useful in terms of getting a good feel for where the wide-format market is heading. I especially liked the fact that it’s a very approachable show – you can talk to manufacturers directly and ask what you like, whereas at some shows it’s just distributors and you always feel you’re having a sale forced on you – whereas at Fespa you can just relax and soak up the information."
Diana Levy, print and production services manager, RHS
"As a print buyer, one of the main reasons for attending the show was to look at how print generated by different presses working to a multitude of specifications compared. Having the latest presses under one roof provided a unique opportunity to do that. The quality and colour consistency offered by the new presses was very impressive – particularly the HPs and Epsons. Visiting Fespa will help my team and I have a better understanding of the quality that we should expect to achieve from our own suppliers."
