Welcoming thousands of visitors from across the globe, the just concluded FESPA 2024 highlighted latest innovations, industry trends as well as unearthed hidden potentials in new vertical markets, including sportswear and personalisation. In this SPECIAL FEATURE POST SHOW ARTICLE, WHERE To Print provides an valuable insight into the event’s success:
FESPA Global Print Expo 2024, European Sign Expo, Personalisation Experience and the inaugural Sportswear Pro (started on a strong footing from Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 March 2024, RAI Amsterdam) attracted a global audience of senior decision-makers prioritising investments for business growth.
The four co-located events and the extensive feature and conference programme unveiled new opportunities, highlighting thousands of innovations and trends, as well as new vertical market prospects. These firmed up investment plans of visitors – 92% of the audience (with collective median budget was over EUR 2.7 billion) looking to invest in equipment in the next 12 months.
In line with this, the event attracted an international audience of senior decision-makers. 76% of attendees were business owners, directors, partners or managers and 85% of visitors shared that they are involved in the decision-making process for their business.
It should be noted that 45% of visitors attended for more than a day. Though visitors travelled from 120 countries, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Italy, Belgium, France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden bringing the largest portion of the audience.
Hosting 525 exhibitors over the four days with 12,706 unique visitors, FESPA Global Print Expo 2024 has really impressed and delivered on its aim to reveal the numerous opportunities on offer to the sector. It also hosted the popular World Wrap Masters competition.
Sustainability was the clear dominant trend at the show, with FESPA itself leading from the front. For the first time, at this year’s event FESPA adopted a sustainable event management strategy and system, following ISO guidelines for ISO 20121, a standard developed in 2012 for the London Olympics. Activities included minimising the event’s footprint – the impact of its collective activities at the event, with stands and event features built using recycled, recyclable, and reusable materials. It has accordingly seen a roughly 90% lower carbon footprint than using traditional stand building methods, measured with its partner – CarbonQuota.
Other trends seen around the halls included automation, an increasing buzz about the potential of AI and what it could do for the sector, the continued growth of direct-to-film (DTF) printing, and a heavy focus on textile printing.
It is therefore no surprising that FESPA 2024 brought out the biggest line-up of exhibitors to date for European Sign Expo 2024; the second iteration of Personalisation Experience with its brand new Personalise Make Wear feature; as well as the inaugural Sportswear Pro, the co-located events and content-led feature programme provided visitors with the opportunity to explore vertical markets, grow their business and expand their offering.
The line-up of global industry experts and thought leaders at the Personalisation Experience and Sportswear Pro conferences delivered a content-rich programme that attracted visitors from around the world, stimulating lively debates and networking conversations as well as new partnership opportunities for future businesses.
Love by all, the words from Gabriello Gambale, Director of Infinite Graphics Solutions sums up attendees’ verdicts of FESPA 2024; “I love FESPA, we always pick up something new every year.” In the same vein, the following exhibitors reported a successful show that continues to be the event of choice for many as they shared their feedback on the benefit of FESPA Global Print Expo 2024 to their brands:
Danna Drion – General Manager Marketing EMEA at Mimaki Europe said it had been “an exciting show, with a lot of people coming to our booth. For us, FESPA is the number one important show to participate on. But it’s more than that – we think its family, we have such a long relationship with FESPA, and we always continue going and see a value add.”
Christophe Inigo – Deputy Commercial Director at Hexis, also commented: “Last year, we went to more than 20 trade shows all over the world, but FESPA is the main. For me, it’s the heart of our business. All our printers, all our distributors are here, and it’s really nice to know for sure that we’ll see everyone once a year. It makes it very easy.”
Laura Thompson – Digital Marketing Specialist, Kit Builder commented: “We thoroughly enjoyed attending FESPA. Not only did it introduce us to a new industry and clients, but we also got to delve into what else is happening in the sector. Each of the co-located events was filled with innovation and creativity, and it’s a pleasure being part of them.”
Bernado Lourenco – Business Development Manager, Apametal said: “For us, FESPA is a great event for printing and signage. As we started the process of expanding our business internationally, exhibiting at FESPA was a no-brainer. We knew we were entering a competitive trade show and FESPA supported us from the beginning.”
Rigte Groenbroek – General Manager, EMEA, Onyx Graphics commented: “FESPA is a vital event to build international brand awareness, gather market feedback, and connect with our international channel partners. FESPA offers us the perfect mix of end users and distributors from every part of the EMEA region, as well as being the ideal environment to build our relationships with the print and finishing technology manufacturers whose equipment is driven by our RIPs. We’re already thinking about our presence at FESPA 2025 in Berlin.”
Mike Horsten – Global PR and Press Manager, Agfa added: “We all know that FESPA is the place to be; it’s a great trade show to promote products. It’s truly international and the global audience reflects that.”
In a nutshell, Michael Ryan, Head of FESPA Global Print Expo recapitulates: “From conversations with exhibitors and visitors at the events, the buzz of creativity and eagerness to learn and explore new solutions and ideas manifested an inspiration to explore new opportunities in everyone. Feedback from our visitors was extremely positive, praising the quality of our international exhibiting community showcasing solutions dedicated to speciality print and signage. It’s a truly unique feeling to meet with so many like-minded businesses and to connect people from all around the world with the same purpose – to grow and develop our industry and this incredible community. I’m looking forward to seeing what the year brings in the wake of the events and I can’t wait for the multitude of ideas and investments from the show to pan out.”
That is why FESPA Global Print Expo and European Sign Expo will return to Messe Berlin, Germany from Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 May 2025. “Following three successful events in the city and positive feedback on the venue from all participants, we are pleased to be returning to Berlin in 2025. We’re looking forward to welcoming exhibitors – as well as visitors – to Messe Berlin next May for an event that I am confident will help printers and signmakers uncover new technologies and solutions to expand their business and unleash their full potential” expresses Michael Ryan.
It would be recalled that FESPA has previously hosted three events in Berlin; in 2007, 2018 and – more recently – 2022. Feedback following FESPA 2022 reaffirmed that Messe Berlin is a popular venue for both exhibitors and visitors alike. The city offers a continental air and traffic hub, and is easily accessible from all major European and international cities. The newest airport – Berlin Brandenburg – is located just 30 minutes from the Messe Berlin and offers flights to European metropolitan and leisure locations as well as a number of intercontinental destinations.
While the Berlin edition will cover screen, digital and textile printing, signage and visual communications as usual, confirmed features include Personalise Make Wear, World Wrap Masters, Club FESPA and the return of the bi-annual FESPA Awards.
For more details on FESPA Global Print Expo 2025, log on to www.fespa.com
