Staying true to its tradition of four-year cycle, drupa will be held again in May 2028. In this upcoming edition, the show will be a 9-day event instead of 11. As the world’s leading platform for printing & packaging technologies, the trade fair is adjusting to the changing needs and expectations of exhibitors and visitors, reflecting the continued transformation of the industry.
The traditional 11-day affair of the show will be reduced to 9 days in 2028, which is scheduled to be held from May 9–17, 2028 at Meese Düsseldorf. Everyone in the industry can look forward to the new format of the show.
As long as the printing & packaging industry is undergoing a dynamic transformation that requires industry events to evolve as well, it also applies to drupa. Every edition of drupa, including the drupa 2024, demonstrated its importance and relevance as a leading global trade, providing pioneering inspiration. Therefore, the industry looks forward to the trade fair as the world’s number one show.
However, there’s a new incarnation of the world’s number one trade show for the printing & packaging industry. The traditional 11-day affair of the show will be reduced to 9 days in 2028, which is scheduled to be held from May 9–17, 2028 at Meese Düsseldorf. Everyone in the industry can look forward to the new format of the show.
Explaining the decision, Wolfram N Diener, Chairman & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, states, “drupa 2024 was more international than ever, and the positive atmosphere throughout the halls reflected our industry’s determination to drive profound change in order to make the printing & packaging industry more sustainable through automation, AI (artificial intelligence), and strategic partnerships. And these are exactly the kind of important goals that will continue to require a reliable platform such as drupa in future.”
He further explains, “What was also apparent, however, was that, as a B2B trade fair with a very high proportion of decision-makers from all over the world, the length of stays at drupa has become shorter. That’s why we want to facilitate trade fair visits with maximum efficiency.
He continues, “At this year’s drupa, 76 percent of visitors were part of top and middle management. We believe that this adjustment is also confirmed by the experience we have gathered at our leading global trade fairs in the fields of machinery, plants and equipment, interpack and K that address comparable customer profiles and do very well with a similar duration.”
The unique presentation of cutting-edge technology and machines in operation remains a USP of drupa. The new rules for trade fair duration will continue to allow exhibitors to effectively present and stage wide-ranging product portfolios, machines and workflows as well as an impressive stage programme.
Dr Andreas Pleßke, Chairman of the drupa Committee & CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, emphasises the trade fair’s importance and is a supporter of the new duration. “For Koenig & Bauer, drupa offers an unbeatable marketing format, as this year’s event has once again impressively demonstrated. We expressly welcome the new trade fair duration starting in 2028, as it will meet changing industry requirements without limiting the international scope of the trade fair. This is also demonstrated by the fact that visitors from 173 countries attended drupa, emphasising the global appeal of the event. No other format generates such a high level of interest from the industry.”
Sabine Geldermann, Director of drupa, says “We comprehensively and carefully analysed the recommendations of our drupa committee, the results of exhibitor and visitor surveys and feedbacks from partners and associations.” He adds that the shortening of the fair’s duration is a direct response to the industry’s desire for a more focused, efficient event that continues to provide international participants with a unique opportunity to discover groundbreaking innovations and technology.
The conceptual direction, new key visual and future claim of drupa 2028 will be presented to the industry in 2025.