Japan’s Komori and Germany-headquartered but UK-owned Manroland Sheetfed have both announced that they will no longer exhibit at the flagship print expo.
Komori had the bigger presence, in Hall 15, and had planned to launch commercial sales of its Impremia NS40, a B1 sheetfed inkjet press that uses Landa’s Nanographic inkjet technology. It would also have showcased its sheetfed press range end Connected Automation workflow concept.
Manroland Sheetfed has had a smaller presence at Drupa since the old Manroland Group fell into administration in 2012 and was subsequently split into two separate businesses, with Manroland Sheetfed acquired by Retford-based Langley Holdings.
In a statement, Komori president and CEO Satoshi Mochida said the firm had cancelled its participation due to “remaining concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus infectious disease Covid-19.”
The manufacturer said that the “extremely unusual circumstances” had prevented it taking part as originally planned.
“The comprehensive decision to suspend the exhibit is made in response to the continued raging of the novel coronavirus infectious disease and its serious impact to the economy of both the developed and emerging countries, taking into consideration the potential risks of second or third surge of the pandemic, and to put highest priority in securing the health and safety of our global customers as well as our employees,” he said.
Komori said it would instead launch new products and services at open houses and regional events, and via other channels including webinars and online events.
Manroland Sheetfed said it would have launched its new large-format Roland 900 Evolution and showcased the Roland 700 Evolution Elite presses at its booth in Hall 14 at the show.
Group managing director Rafael Peñuela-Torres said: “Exhibiting at Drupa, or any other trade fair for that matter, makes absolutely no sense during the current Coronavirus pandemic.”
He described the situation as regrettable and unfortunate, but said that it was “just not practicable in the current circumstances. Instead we will be holding a series of live webinars in the autumn".
Last week Heidelberg, which had a big presence in the new Hall 1, announced that it was pulling out while Koenig & Bauer subsequently asserted its support for the rescheduled Drupa expo in April 2021.
Xerox (Hall 8b) and Bobst (Hall 10) have also decided not to exhibit.
Commenting on a Printweek Twitter post after Heidelberg’s announcement, the Drupa team stated:
“We very much regret that Heidelberger Druckmaschinen has cancelled its participation in Drupa 2021. This is of course an individual decision, which we respect. The current booking level for Drupa still remains at a high level.
“We're convinced that Drupa will enable all participants to re-enter their business & will guarantee economic success in combination with the online offering. Right now, trade fairs are a key instrument for bringing the economy back to a state of far-reaching normality.
“Our aim is to provide the best possible support for our customers' trade fair presence, in addition to the necessary hygiene and infection protection standards. Safety of all participants is always our top priority.”
Drupa organiser Messe Düsseldorf has taken down the Drupa 2021 interactive hall plan due to the need to re-jig the hall layouts.
