The recent FESPA 2015 Global Expo witnessed a significant increase in Asian visitors, including nearly 300 from China. Among the 23,137 visitors to FESPA 2015 in Cologne, Germany, there was a 59 per cent increase in visitors from Asia compared with FESPA 2010, making up 5 per cent of the total visitor base. “This highlights how the FESPA brand is strengthening its presence in the region, and how the wide format marketplace is of growing interest to leading Asian printers,” FESPA said in a press release. According to the organisers, the FESPA Awards 2015 were also a very popular contest for Asian printers and accounted for nearly 50 per cent of shortlisted entries across all categories. Asian printers laid particular emphasis on posters, fine art reproductions, special effect screen, t-shirts and other garments. Asian printers won three of the seventeen categories of which both, The Posters and Fine Art categories were by Kumazawa Screen Printing, Japan while, Sincerely Screen, Thailand was awarded Gold in the t-shirt category. The Hall of Fame Award dedicated to an outstanding individual in the printing world and voted online by the FESPA community, was awarded to Mark Gervais from Ningbo Shenzhou Knitting Co., Ltd in China. Roz McGuinness, divisional director at FESPA said, “The impact the FESPA China brand is having on awareness of FESPA in Asia, is very positive.” “We are delighted that visitor numbers from Asia to our Global Expo have grown significantly since FESPA 2010, and the increase in numbers from China in particular is very encouraging,” McGuinness added. “The main FESPA exhibition not only allows visitors from the region to see new technologies first hand, but also to attend demonstrations and seminars from industry leaders,” he observed. When it first launched FESPA China in 2013, its goal was to increase the number of international visitors to the existing event, while also providing more focus on digital technology. “The fact that more Asian visitors are attending our flagship European event shows a greater interest in digital printing, as people travel to see the latest digital technology and meet manufacturers,” FESPA too added. “With more and more international brands exhibiting at FESPA China, local printers can also benefit from the same exposure to leading global suppliers at the regional event in October 2015,” it noted. FESPA China 2015, taking place from October 21-23, 2015 in Shanghai, will be the third event of its kind and is expected to further strengthen the ties FESPA has with Asian suppliers and printers.
