Heidelberg has told the organiser of the Ipex 2014 exhibition that it is cancelling its stand reservation. This is the third major supplier to pull out, following earlier announcements by HP and Agfa.

Traditionally Heidelberg has always taken one of the largest stands at Ipex, while HP emerged in the past decade as the largest digital press supplier to attend, overtaking Xerox. At drupa in May Heidelberg outlined plans to become a much larger force in commercial digital printing, expanding from its base in high end offset presses. So this is a blow to the credibility of Ipex as a major international printing show.

Both Heidelberg and HP are facing serious financial challenges, but it’s unclear why they did not just decide to take smaller, lower cost stand areas.

Agfa has also said it will not attend. It remains a major supplier of offset plate consumables, but its digital printing focus is now mainly on large format.

The 2014 Ipex is moving to the London ExCel centre in London Docklands, moving away from the Birmingham NEC which has been its home since 1980.

Trevor Crawford, event director of the Ipex organiser Informa Exhbitions, said: ‘We are very disappointed in Heidelberg’s decision to withdraw from Ipex 2014 – one of the industry’s major global events. Heidelberg has long been synonymous with printing and has a long association with Ipex. As organisers of a range of exhibitions around the world, we will continue to have an ongoing dialogue with them.’

‘It’s been a very difficult decision, made at international level,’ said Gerard Heanue, managing director of Heidelberg UK (pictured at top). ‘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.

According to Heidelberg, the decision to withdraw from Ipex was part of a comprehensive re-think on its sales and marketing strategy including serving its customers in different parts of the world.

‘Drupa was a showcase and resulted in the company exceeding its sales expectations world wide,’ said a company statement. ‘However, 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.’

‘Mr Heanue added: ‘ In the UK we have already restructured our business to better reflect the changes in our marketplace but we are unusual among press suppliers in having retained our demo facilities on a global scale, which are individually large enough to house as much equipment as printers would see at Ipex. We will continue to use these as our showcase with open houses, targeted forums, bespoke demonstrations and training programmes. This, combined with new media channels which give us new ways of communicating directly with the customer, dilutes the relevance of exhibitions in industrialised markets for us.

‘We still think that Informa’s decision to move Ipex to London was the right one. We supported it but even 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. Of course, we wish them success.’

Informa said that the decision by Heidelberg will be addressed in detail and discussed with the Ipex Advisory Committee (IAC) at the next meeting, on 20 September.

David Preskett, president of Ipex 2014 and European professional print director of Canon Europe, said: ‘Heidelberg’s decision is obviously a disappointment. However, Ipex has a rich heritage and tradition for innovation, and plans are well underway with the IAC and other industry associations to ensure that Ipex 2014 captures the rapid changes taking place in our industry as print continues to evolve as a key element in the new order marketing mix.’

Informa points out that major suppliers that have already confirmed attendance at ExCel in 2014 include Canon, CMC, Duplo, EFI, Epson, Fujifilm, Hans Gronhi, Horizon, Hunkeler, Impika, Kern, Kodak, Komori, Konica Minolta, Muller Martini, Pitney Bowes, Presstek, Screen, W&D, Xeikon and Xerox.

‘Of the top 33 key footprints throughout the show, 29 have increased their floorspace for Ipex 2014,’ said Informa. ‘More specifically, 16 major digital exhibitors have increased their stand space by a total of 55% collectively compared to Ipex 2010, indicating their faith in the Ipex brand, relocation to London and substantial ROI that the show delivers. Ipex 2014 has already received more significant bookings from the top 100 vendors than ever before so early in the booking cycle.’

Last week Informa announced plans to host a series of Ipex roadshows in key international visitor territories, with a particular focus on emerging markets. Nick Craig Waller, marketing director, said: ‘During 2013, we will be engaging with key print groups, associations, media and exhibitors to provide them with the latest industry analysis, trends and statistics, discussions around growth opportunities, presentations of relevant case studies and the significant role of Ipex 2014. This will include insight into the changing landscape and commercialisation of the technology that will be showcased at Ipex.’

Countries on the roadshow list include: Australia (Sydney & Melbourne), Belgium/Netherlands, Brazil (Sao Paulo), China (Beijing & Shanghai), France, Germany, India (Mumbai & New Delhi), Italy, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the USA (Chicago, Philadelphia & New York). It will also be visiting ten cities in the UK.

Informa’s other print related shows include the established Northprint, which is being relaunched for 2013 as North Print & Pack, and the new Cross Media show which takes place in London next month.

Contact: www.ipex.org/2014