The Governing Council of Indian Printing Packaging & Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) has postponed the upcoming Printpack India 2021 exhibition, which was slated to be held at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida from February 03-08, 2021. Since the opening of the booking, 285 companies had reserved space for participation.
Keeping in view the impact of Coronavirus worldwide and specifically in India, safety and health of exhibitors and business visitors, prevailing market conditions, and travel restrictions, IPAMA has conducted a detailed survey of its exhibitors. Of the responses, 195 out of 302 (64 %) exhibitors voted for postponing the event while 36 (12 %) opted for canceling the present edition. The 15th edition of the Printpack India exhibition and the concurrent India Sign & LED Expo event will now be organized some later at what is being called ‘a safer period.’
IPAMA hosted a virtual press meet on 11 November 2020 to announce the postponement of Printpack India 2021. Dayakar Reddy, president IPAMA, said, “We held a virtual meeting of our governing council on 7 November 2020 to discuss the future of Printpack India 2021. We took the decision to postpone our upcoming show in February. We are not announcing the new dates because we don’t want to confuse our exhibitors and visitors. We would be closely monitoring the situation of this pandemic across the globe. Once we feel the situation is suitable to host the exhibition, we will immediately organize it within 100 days.
Virtual show for 50 exhibitors
“We have developed a world-class exhibitor and visitor portal during this unprecedented time that competes with the best international shows. Our governing council has approved a virtual show with 50 exhibition booths and will be announcing the dates very soon. We will also be conducting digital B2B meetings in selective countries like Latin America, Africa, and the Gulf countries,” he added.
In IPAMA’s survey of its exhibitors and members, 167 out of 219 companies (76%) chose to attend the postponed event. 131 out of 219 companies (60%) rated Printpack India as very important for India’s printing and packaging industries.
IPAMA has also sent the survey to 1.5 lakh visitors, of which 300 have responded in the last 40 hours. 25% of respondents said they visited the exhibition for the display of different brands of the same product shown by various companies under one roof, while 22% said they attended for good business prospects. 23% of visitors surveyed visited Printpack India for live demonstrations of machines, 17% for the display of machines and products while the remaining 13% did so for the competitive pricing of products.
