Two industry giants – Xerox and Bobst have canceled their participation at next year’s industry’s number one trade event – drupa.
Even with the assurance by drupa organiser – Messe Dusseldorf that it was working with all relevant authorities to ensure high safety and hygiene standards already in place at the Dusseldorf Exhibition Centre Germany, Xerox and Bobst have both confirmed they will no longer exhibit at the industry’s flagship event.
While Xerox in a statement said; “The Drupa 2020 trade fair was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a new event scheduled for next April. Given continued uncertainty around holding large events during a pandemic and our own schedule for product introductions, Xerox has decided not to participate in the Drupa 2021 trade fair”, however Bobst informed that its canceling all trade shows participation in 2021. Bobst statement reads; “Bobst reducing its presence at industry tradeshows and thereby dramatically reducing the environmental impact. As a result, we have decided not to attend drupa and other industry tradeshows in 2021, while maintaining a limited participation in Asia.” In place of industry trade show participation, the company said that; “We have started to virtualise the customer experience with live streaming demonstrations – across all equipment in our existing Competence Centers providing an engaging customer experience with less traveling constraints. There will be further information on these new ways of engagement soon”.
It would be recalled that prior to these cancelations, Xerox accounted for about a quarter of the space in Hall 8b where it was due to exhibit alongside erstwhile partner – Fujifilm; and Bobst had one of the largest stands in Hall 10.
