With over 50 conferences, the Drupa Cube will be a focal point of Drupa 2024, which opens on Tuesday May 28 at Messe Düsseldorf in Germany.
The lectures, in English, are divided into five themes: Keynotes (which will open each day of the Cube), Business Boosters (business development), Circular economy and sustainability (circular economy and sustainability), Trends (trends), Print and packaging futures (the future of printing and packaging).
The German media production association f:mp will also be organizing sessions, in German, Print and digital convention (focusing on media production trends such as mass personalization or AI).
The Cube will be opened by Vicky Pryce, an international economic analyst, on the first day of the show at 11.15am. Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser at the renowned Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and Professor at BCU and King's College London.
In this keynote, she will present an overview of the economic challenges and opportunities we face, and explain how companies of all sizes can adapt and grow.
Business Boosters, for business development and management
One of the highlights of the Business Boosters will be a presentation on the printing industry in the digital age by Yasunori Ogawa, President and CEO of Epson. The Japanese executive will give his views on the present and future of the industry, and talk about the growing importance of sustainable solutions.
Gershon Alon, head of software solutions at digital press manufacturer HP Indigo, will focus on new industry standards in automation.
Charles Jarrold, head of the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), will explain how to attract and retain staff, presenting the key elements of an effective apprenticeship program and the main lessons learned from the BPIF's experience.
Enrico Barboglio, General Manager of the Italian graphic machinery manufacturers' association Acimga, and Sara Alexander, Marketing and Communications Manager for flexible packaging at Swiss manufacturer Bobst, will present the role of substrates in marketing.
This session is particularly aimed at print professionals who want to support brands in their search for innovative approaches and ideas.
Circular economy and sustainability from carbon footprint to environmental standards
The Drupa Cube also includes sessions on the circular economy and the environment. Experts will present practical advice on how to reduce our footprint on nature.
Among the Circular economy and sustainability sessions, Mark Fabisch from German media group Bertelsmann, Lisa Faratro from European book printing group CPI and Beatrice Klose from European printing association Intergraf will discuss how best to calculate the carbon footprint of printed products.
Jonathan Graham, Chairman of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, will moderate a panel discussion (including Yujing Pan, product compliance expert in Asian markets at Enhesa and Calvin Lakhan, professor at UFL and York University Canada) to discuss strategies for effectively navigating environmental regulations.
Ewald Rempel, Director of Technical Applications Packaging Solutions EMEA at manufacturer Sun Chemical, and Alina Marm, Head of Global Sustainability and Circular Economy at Siegwerk, will discuss the crucial role of inks and coatings for recyclable packaging.
Trends to companies in this new environment
Le Cube offers several conferences on the trends that are generating new business models and the main forces at play.
Dario Urbinati, CEO of Swiss label equipment manufacturer Gallus, will explain how the label sector can meet market challenges (rising energy costs, spare parts supply issues and skilled labor shortages...) and explore "smart, connected printing". As he will explain, this methodology harnesses advanced technologies to streamline workflows, achieve new levels of profitability and integrate tools for increased consumer engagement.
Henrik Müller-Hansen, founder and CEO of Norwegian software company Gelato, will present new growth opportunities for manufacturers in the age of the creator economy (fueled by global software platforms and the unprecedented reach of influencers Tiktok, YouTube and Instagram). He will detail the importance of agility, speed, personalization and sustainability, driven by the growing importance of e-commerce and social networks, and how these factors are changing the print industry. .
Print and packaging futures, printing inks for printed electronics
The Organic and Printed Electronics Association (OE-A) will be offering an overview of printed electronics and smart packaging technologies at Drupa Cube. Klaus Hecker, Managing Director of OE-A, will present the latest trends and technologies, covering topics such as energy storage, IoT smart labels and advanced printing techniques.
Gerhard Domann from the German research institute Fraunhofer ISC will present the latest results from the EU-funded CircEl-Paper project, which is working on recyclable printed electronics.
Sun Chemical's Peter Wülfert and Siegwerk's Evert Delbanco will give an overview of global regulations for printing inks on food contact materials (FCM).
The Drupa Cube program runs all day except Sunday. Sunday June 2 will see the German-language Print and digital convention "Change your media world", organized by f:mp.
