Heidelberg has told IPEX 2014 organiser Informa Exhibitions that it will not be exhibiting at the UK-based print industry show. Event director Trevor Crawford comments: “We are very disappointed in Heidelberg’s decision to withdraw from one of the industry’s major global events. Heidelberg has long been synonymous with printing and has a long association with Ipex. As organiser of a range of exhibitions around the world, we will continue to have an ongoing dialogue with them.”
Heidelberg emphasises that the decision to withdraw from Ipex was part of a comprehensive re-think on its sales- and marketing strategy, the means of best serving its customers in different parts of the world. “It’s been a very difficult decision, made at international level,” says Gerard Heanue, managing director of Heidelberg UK. “We need to take a different approach here in Europe than in developing markets like China and Brazil, where there remains a need to use exhibitions to meet new buyers and make them aware of the scale and scope of our wide portfolio of products and services.”
He says that while Drupa was a showcase and resulted in the company exceeding its sales expectations worldwide, the consolidation of printing in the European market, the reduction in the number of printers and the increasing focus on more complex and technical sales means exhibitions are not be as relevant as in the past for Europe. “We still think that Informa’s decision to move Ipex to London was the right one, but ever since the last Ipex in 2010 the market has changed and so regrettably we have had to let them know that we will not be there.”
Ipex 2014 will take place at London’s Excel International Exhibition and Conference centre from 26 March-2 April 2014.
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