DÜSSELDORF | Germany – August 2024 – Messe Düsseldorf has reassigned management responsibility for the drupa print industry trade show to its president and CEO, Wolfram Diener, with the recent retirement of operative managing director Erhard Wienkamp, who was previously responsible for the event.
The move means that Sabine Geldermann, who continues as director of drupa, will now report up the management chain to Mr Diener, who commented, ‘Our trade fair portfolios are now organized in such a way to foster the best possible synergies in the coming years. That’s how we’ll reinforce the leading position of our trade shows in Düsseldorf and worldwide – while further driving their growth.’
Marius Berlemann has replaced Mr Wienkamp as managing director of operations and has control of a non-print-related portfolio of trade shows. Bernhard Stempfle, managing director of finance and infrastructure, will continue to oversee the entire finance department as well as of the digital strategy and communication division and the technology division.
Messe Düsseldorf said Ms Geldermann will continue to be responsible for the operational side of drupa, coordinating strategic decisions with Mr Diener. It added that it is currently still analysing drupa 2024, which was held in May-June this year, before drawing any conclusions regarding future changes to the show.
Editor’s Note:
Messe Düsseldorf announced that Drupa 2024 attracted 170,000 trade visitors during its 11-day event, which concluded on Friday, June 7. Although this attendance is down nearly 35%—or over 90,000 visitors—compared to the 260,165 attendees at Drupa 2016, and fell short of the pre-show goal of 200,000 visitors, many exhibitors expressed strong satisfaction with the quality of attendees and the amount of business conducted. This positivity is partly attributed to industry consolidation and changes since the 2016 event.
A total of 1,643 exhibitors from 52 countries participated in Drupa 2024. The international share of visitors reached 80%, with attendees from a record 174 countries. Following Europe, Asia was the second most represented region, accounting for 22% of visitors, followed by America at 12%.
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