DuPont Image Solutions has canceled its participation in drupa 2021. The continuing uncertainty of the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced DuPont Image Solutions to withdraw from drupa 2021.
DuPont Electronics & Imaging is a global supplier of materials and technologies serving the semiconductor, advanced chip packaging, circuit board, electronic and industrial finishing, display, and digital and flexographic printing industries. Their ingredients and solutions help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health and wellness, food and worker safety.
DuPont prioritizes safety above all else, and the care and protection of its employees, partners and colleagues is its primary concern during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Drupa has been and will continue to be a key printing industry event at which DuPont Image Solutions has historically been an active supporter and enthusiastic participant. In light of the continuing threat posed by Covid-19, DuPont Image Solutions plans to find creative new ways to connect virtually and responsibly in order to advance its relationships and share technical innovations found throughout DuPont Cyrel and DuPont Artistri product lines.
DuPont joins drexit
According to our earlier article on ‘Drexit and the fragmentation of the drups flock’ by Naresh Khanna, DuPont joins a long list of withdrawals from drupa 2021. To again recite the list of withdrawals, it was Bobst and Xerox who were the first to quit the event. Next came Heidelberg and Manroland Sheetfed, followed by Komori. Then it was Screen in the first week of September, Fujifilm on 14 September, Kodak in the third week of September, and HP, the Post Press Alliance at the end of September, and EFI on the last day of September. Canon and Ricoh just exited from the event on the first week of October.
The remainders
There are the hardcore drupa remainders too. Among the top twenty remaining exhibitors are Koenig & Bauer, Kurz, Landa, and Windmöller & Hölscher. Alongside these are the significant exhibitors who have not yet melted away, such as Xeikon, Konica Minolta, and RMGT. One expects more exhibitors to withdraw and further fragmentation of the ecosphere of knowledge and technology sharing. As Gareth Ward of Print Business in the UK has written, “A host of other smaller companies would be giving serious consideration to withdrawing from the event if it did not mean losing a deposit of several thousands of Euros, which many cannot afford to do.”
The organizers had declared that drupa 2021 will be a hybrid physical and digital event, and the most recent withdrawals strengthen the digital and virtual outlook. Starting in October 2020, drupa will be making an online portal available to exhibitors and visitors.
The new digital platform called the drupa preview will open on 27 October 2020 at 10:00 am (Central European time). A panel discussion with Sabine Geldermann, project director Print Technologies, Dr Markus Heering, managing director of the German VDMA, and Dr Christian Plenge, executive director Digital at Messe Düsseldorf, will present the new platform and address the current situation in the industry. Afterward, companies and speakers will present essential topics in live web sessions.
The digital format ‘drupa preview’ will provide a preview of the next live drupa event with its three virtual areas – Exhibition Space, Conference Area, and Networking Plaza. Exhibitors will present their companies and products, speakers will give insights into the drupa agenda setting, and visitors and exhibitors will interact and network. With this new digital offering, drupa will provide the industry with continuous exchange and knowledge transfer.
