drupa, the leading international event of the printing industry, will draw attention in Düsseldorf on May 28 – June 7, especially with its sustainability-oriented theme. In cooperation with the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association and drupa, the sustainability issues to be discussed at the touchpoint sustainability forum will shed light on the industry on an area of 400m2. In the exhibition, numerous application examples and innovative solutions will be presented by the most important stakeholders for increasing sustainability along the entire value-added chain of the printing and paper industry.
drupa’s touchpoint sustainability forum will offer a unique perspective on the current situation as well as medium and long-term developments for the sustainable transformation of the printing and paper industry. The importance of mechanical and systems engineering technologies for quality, process safety and sustainability will be underlined, while the role of digitalisation and artificial intelligence will be emphasised to accelerate and scale the transformation. At Touchpoint sustainability, manufacturers, industry players, brands and users will demonstrate how change can become a reality all together. Furthermore, a list of companies ranging from industry leaders such as Koenig & Bauer, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Müller Martini or Voith to highly specialised start-ups has been compiled to map the best possible representative cross-section of the industry.
Numerous topics of interest, such as reducing energy and resource consumption in production, minimising the use of materials and printing inks, recyclable and environmentally friendly inks and processes, will be answered at touchpoint sustainability in Hall 14. Developments promising new business models will also be discussed at the forum.
The printing industry is looking for ways to sustainability
Speaking about drupa and touchpoint sustainability, the Chairman of the drupa committee and CEO of Koenig & Bauer Andreas Pleßke said: “drupa is the globally leading trade fair of our industry. As a platform for the exchange of ideas, for discussions and transfer of knowledge, it is the place at which to find out how mega-trends like sustainability, digitalisation and technological innovations will affect the future of the print and paper industry. Cross-sectional forums like the touchpoint sustainability are central points of contact for this. Because more sustainability is best achieved if we all work together on the necessary innovations.”
Member of the board of management at VDMA Printing and Paper Technology, who is responsible to the VDMA for the project touchpoint sustainability, Thomas Schiemann disclosed: “I am looking forward to presenting this important topic in this extraordinary dimension at the touchpoint sustainability to the entire print and paper industry. The VDMA and its members are very aware of the related challenges, which is why we want to show how much effort has already been made to achieve possible solutions, but also, to show what still lies before us. The concept to have students as partners for talks and discussions at the entire booth is intended to appeal especially to young people and make them excited about our industry.”