As part of the constituent assembly of the drupa committee on 5 February 2025, Andreas Plesske, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, was confirmed as chairman of the body. Wolfgang Poppen, managing partner of Freiburger Druck GmbH & Co. KG and president of ‘Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.’ was again appointed his deputy. Both votes were unanimous.
“It is a special honor for me to continue to actively help shape the development of drupa as chairman of the drupa committee. The world is changing rapidly – both in technical and political terms. Together with the committee we will ensure that drupa constantly develops further to also assert its pole position as a world-leading trade fair for print technologies in future and to orient the industry for the future,” sais Andreas Plesske upon his re-election. His deputy Wolfgang Poppen also stresses: “drupa is the centerpiece of the industry, a place of innovations and technology launches. The coming months will be used intensively to further sharpen the profile of drupa’s position in 2028.”
Strategic reorientation and new members in the committee
As part of the further development of the world-leading trade fair, the strategic process towards drupa 2028 was already initiated. drupa intensely works on an innovative concept that aims to particularly leverage new target groups in a constantly transforming industry and to promote high-caliber knowledge transfer. Alongside the proven trade fair format innovative formats are being developed with a view to enabling even stronger networking within the industry. Here the focus will increasingly be on brand owners and multipliers.
Four new members were included in the committee:
- Markus Hoffmann, executive senior vice president, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & chairman of the Printing and Paper Association in VDMA e.V.
- Marcel Martens, general manager Industrial Print EMEA Direct, HP Indigo & Pagewide, HP Industrial Printing
- Thomas Heininger, CEO, MBO Postpress Solutions & CEO, Komori International Europe
- Peter Voigt, managing director, Perfecta Schneidemaschinenwerk GmbH
Technology trends and innovations in focus
A central component of the new strategy is the identification and presentation of relevant technology trends, that determine the future of the print and packaging industry. Topics such as Artificial Intelligence, automation, sustainable printing processes and digital transformation continue to be centre stage in all this
Highly committed and with a clear vision drupa and the committee are preparing the groundwork for the key decisions to be taken for drupa 2028. Because in some twelve months’ time the trade fair will kick off its exhibitor registration again, highlighting the innovative power of the industry for all to see.
The drupa committee was founded on the occasion of the first drupa in 1951 and its members are made up of equal numbers of exhibitors and visitors. Its task is to consult Messe Düsseldorf on the conceptual and sector-relevant further development of the leading trade fair. The personal dialogue with key experts and multipliers on the part of manufacturers and users in this industry is of particular relevance in times of ongoing change in the industry. At present, the committee members represent six industry associations:
- Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within VDMA e.V.
- German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.)
- Paper-Processing Trade Associations (Wirtschaftsverbände Papierverarbeitung)
- Paper Industry (DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE e.V.)
- German Printing Ink Industry Association (Verband der deutschen Lack- und Druckfarbenindustrie e.V.)
- Flexographic Printing Association (DFTA Flexodruck Fachverband e.V.)
The drupa 2028 committee at a glance:
Chairman: Andreas Pleßke, CEO of Koenig & Bauer (VDMA)
Deputy chairman: Wolfgang Poppen, managing partner, Freiburger Druck (bvdm)
- Ralph Dittmann, managing director, WKS Druckholding
- Werner Drechsler, managing partner, Druckstudio
- Martin Drews, managing director Raw Materials & Circular Economy, in-house counsel, Die Papierindustrie
- Thomas Heininger, CEO, MBO Postpress Solutions & CEO, Komori International Europe
- Markus Hoffmann, executive senior vice president, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association within VDMA
- Kirsten Hommelhoff, chief executive officer bvdm e.V. – Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V
- Martin Kanert, chief executive officer, VdL – Verband der deutschen Lack- und Druckfarbenindustrie e.V.
- Nicola Kopp-Rostek, managing director, DFTA Flexodruck Fachverband e.V.
- Marcel Martens, general manager Industrial Print EMEA Direct, HP Indigo & Pagewide, HP Industrial Printing
- Falco Paepenmüller, executive board, chief executive officer, Windmöller & Hölscher KG
- Thomas Pfeiffer, managing director, WPV Wirtschaftsverband Papierverarbeitung e.V.
- Thomas Schiemann, managing director, Printing and Paper Technology Association within VDMA e.V., VDMA – Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.
- David Schmedding, chair technology & sales, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
- Martin Schorn, director technical Customer Service News & Retail (N&R), UPM Communication Papers
- Peter Voigt, general manager, Perfecta Schneidemaschinenwerk GmbH
