Covid-19 has accelerated the move towards digital and local events. Although there is no way of knowing what the impact of corona will be next year, Heidelberg had to make a decision now. So the company has decided to not participate in international trade fairs next year and will thus not be taking part in drupa. In 2021, drupa will be a very different event – global travel restrictions and hygiene regulations mean significantly fewer visitors and constraints on communication. Traditional international trade fairs with busy booths and halls will very probably be difficult to implement and will likely lose their status as global meet-up events for customers and manufacturers. As a longtime partner to drupa, Heidelberg will be happy to continue to offer its experience when it comes to bringing future trade fair concepts in line with new digital possibilities and customer requirements.
The trend towards ever shorter innovation cycles in the graphic industry it’s very clear. Data-based digital business models are emerging in very short time intervals and are constantly being modified to align with current specific customer requirements. Customers thus need to be informed about the latest trends quickly, flexibly and on an ongoing basis. This trend also affects customer communications at Heidelberg: the company will focus on offering more new, digital options to present products and innovations.
Innovation in the growth market of packaging, a complete interconnection of end-to-end printshop processes to be seen live for the first time: the kick-off will be at the “Innovation Week” from 19 to 23 October 2020. Under the slogan “Unfold your potential”, Heidelberg will be presenting a wealth of product innovations that focus on packaging and commercial, including autonomous printing, end-to-end solutions, Smart Print Shop and Push-to-Stop. 
The Innovation Week will take place via livestream as well as face-to-face at the Wiesloch/Walldorf location. Heidelberg has already had positive experience of using digital channels in its presentation of the innovations that had been planned for this year’s drupa.
“We will be investing more in new, virtual trade fair concepts to ensure closer and more individual customer communications as well as in regional events in our growth markets.
This means we will be able to consistently align ourselves with our customers’ expectations; the Innovation Week will enable us to communicate with our customers as soon as possible and to present our innovations”, says Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberg.
Face-to-face dialogue will continue at the unique Print Media Centers in Wiesloch/Walldorf, Atlanta, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and Tokyo, here Heidelberg offers information about products and solution demonstrations, many occasions for direct communications with applications specialists as well as extensive training courses.
