HP’s graphic arts business, which will become part of the new $54.6bn (£35.6bn) turnover HP Inc organisation next month, will occupy the whole of hall 17 encompassing some 6,200sqm. At the last show in 2012, it had 4,952sqm in hall four.
“This is a big, big investment from our side and the next project for us and all our divisions. Indigo, PageWide and Latex are all geared towards Drupa,” said HP marketing director for EMEA Ronen Zioni.
“Drupa is not just ‘Druck and Papier’ anymore,” he added. “We have a very serious offering around packaging and this is very much aligned with the Drupa team’s ambitions, they are looking for innovation. They were very receptive of our wish to be the biggest exhibitor.”
Zioni said it was too early to share any specifics about what HP planned to exhibit, but said it would involve “a lot of innovation not seen before” and a very substantial investment.
“We have made some choices about where we invest with it being a Drupa year. Our pre-Drupa event will be in Israel in April, where we will keep the momentum of Dscoop going by holding Dscoop5 and sharing with our customers what we are doing at Drupa,” he explained.
Heidelberg has long occupied hall one in its entirety, to the extent that it has become known as “the Heidelberg hall”.
And while it remains in this location for the upcoming show, it is now sharing the space with a number of other companies, including its Chinese outsourcing partner Masterwork Machinery, and cutting specialist Polar.
Heidelberg had previously stated that “in line with current market requirements we will be demonstrating innovative solutions alongside our partners in Dusseldorf.”
Other firms sharing the space with the world’s largest press manufacturer have a less obvious connection. They include papermaker Stora Enso, humidification specialist Draabe, and Swiss UV varnishing machinery manufacturer Steinemann.
Heidelberg was unavailable for further comment about its plans at the time of writing.
Other notable exhibitors to up their presence at Drupa 2016 include Landa Digital Printing, which will be in hall nine again but with more than double the space than when it launched in 2012, at 3,000sqm.
A source at one equipment manufacturer said: “It’s going to be very much a digital show in my opinion. Offset will be a bit player.”
Drupa 2016 encompasses 19 halls and was 80% sold out at the end of last year, with a few spaces still remaining on the current floorplan. Hall four, where HP was previously located, now includes a number of paper suppliers as well as Pitney Bowes.
The show has an overall message of “touch the future” with six highlight themes: Multichannel, Print, Functional Printing, 3D Printing, Package Production and Green Printing. It will take place from 31 May to 10 June 2016.
