With just less than a month to go until FESPA Africa and Sign Africa 2015, the exhibition has secured commitment from major industry players, including platinum sponsors Avery Dennison and Roland, as well as global companies such as Canon, Agfa, Mimaki, Fujifilm and Epson.
Other leading brands who will demonstrate their latest products include platinum sponsors Avery Dennison, as well as manufacturers HP, Kornit Digital, DTG Digital, Durst, Antalis, Brother, Evonik, swissQprint, Mutoh and Vista System International.
The event, taking place from 22-24 July at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, is set to attract visitors from across Southern Africa. The continent’s economic buoyancy and FESPA’s brand recognition was evident at FESPA Africa 2014 which saw an 11% increase of attendees from outside South Africa compared to Sign Africa 2013. Attracting visitors from nearly 40 countries, with top attendances from Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“Africa is a vital and exciting growth region,” said FESPA CEO Neil Felton. “In the past decade, the combined GDP of the continent’s 54 countries has expanded quicker each year than the global average. This healthy economic environment presents numerous possibilities for wide format printers with a view to grow their businesses.”
“Despite the fact that Africa isn’t a mature market, it’s keeping up-to-date with global advances and seeing growth in areas we also see here in the developed economies, such as soft signage and digital textile. Out-of-Home (OOH) is also an expanding market: from billboards and soft signage to vehicle wraps, the scope is huge. One of the reasons for this increase is the amount of time consumers spend travelling each day. Covering long distances, people spend a good amount of time exposed to OOH media, creating a worthwhile opportunity for media and business owners.’
The event will also provide a range of educational touch-points that are designed to invigorate print solution providers and sign-makers. These include:
EXTREME SPEEDWRAP CHALLENGE
Participants will be able to take part in the annual Avery Dennison/Roland Speedwrap Challenge, which will take place daily on the exhibition floor. The community is invited to enter the competition where they can compete alongside peers in a race against the clock to wrap a vehicle door to the best standards. Individuals are competing to be crowned the ultimate wrap-off champion, with an array of prizes, including the first place winner gaining a trip to FESPA Digital 2016 to take part in the FESPA World Wrap Masters Grand Final for the global title. For more information and to enter, visit www.fespaafrica.com.
IGNITE T-SHIRT & SCREEN PRINT WORKSHOP
This garment feature will be a hands-on workshop where printers can learn different techniques to decorate garments, from heat transfers, direct-to-garment (DTG) and screen printing applications including discharge and special effects, all taught by t-shirt print guru, Charlie Taublieb. With over 38 years in the industry, Charlie has experience in all aspects of the industry from designing facilities to solving technical problems. Garment specialists who attend the expo are encouraged to visit the stand to gain fantastic tips on how to improve and enhance their garment decoration techniques. The workshop is open to all without prior reservation.
IGNITE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
The theatre will be host to several seminars per day exploring different industry themes and topics from colour management and workflow, to looking at future trends in digital wide format print. The programme will be filled with industry specialists and manufacturers covering technical know-how and market opportunities, as well as sessions on technologies. Within the programme is the ‘IGNITE DAILY DEBATE’ where attendees can ‘explore the issues’ and take part in an interesting discussion on hot industry topics and pose questions to the expert panel. No reservation required, visitors can simply show up and gain their seat!
IGNITE RIGID PAPER BOARD COMPETITION
The Rigid Paper Board Competition, supported by Graphix Supply World, returns to recognise excellence in point-of-purchase displays, in-store communication, and other imaginative displays using rigid paper board. The entered pieces being judged at FESPA Africa for the title ‘Best Overall Display of the Year’. Find out more and enter at www.fespaafrica.com.
Also running alongside the exhibition is the first Printing SA Africa Conference, supported by FESPA. The two-day conference, taking place 22-23 July 2015 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, is a dedicated event for print solution providers to source the latest industry information, gain insights into market knowledge and be inspired by leading industry professionals. Themes will include: business aspects such as investment, training and management; future trends and opportunities in digital printing; networking and more.
“Associations such as ours need to embrace the latest developments in our industry. Hence our partnership with FESPA and the Printing SA Africa Conference, which is to run in conjunction with the FESPA Africa event. The purpose of this is to give ‘value-add’, ensuring delegates get maximum benefit for their time and money. We are bringing the world of digital printing to Africa!” said Steve Thobela, CEO of Printing SA.
