In a blow to the organisers of Ipex 2014, HP has cancelled its stand space at the London Docklands Excel Centre and announced that it will not attend the show.
At the 2010 Ipex at the NEC, HP was the largest exhibitor, taking some 3000 m2 of space. At drupa in Düsseldorf last month it was the largest all-digital exhibitor with 5000m2. It showed some 25 digital presses including the new T410 inkjet web press and several of the new B2 sheet fed and wider-web Indigo presses. This stand was only exceeded in area by Heidelberg. Indigo, the digital press supplier acquired by HP in 2001, staged its worldwide launch at Ipex 1993 and has been at every show since.
In a brief statement, the company said: ‘HP has decided not to participate in Ipex 2014, as we are shifting our marketing and sales focus to more local and application-specific events, as well as to customer business development programs such as Dscoop-sponsored events that help our customers profitably grow their businesses.’
Dscoop is an HP-sponsored user group for owners and operators of HP digital print systems, including HP Indigo, IHPS (the high speed inkjet webs) and HP Scitex (large format inkjets). Originally it confined its activities to North America, but this year it has launched into Europe, seeking members. Its first European conference will be held in Barcelona on 8 – 9 November.
HP’s finances have suffered in recent years due to a combination of the recession plus board-level ructions and resignations, but these appeared to largely effect its computing businesses. However at the end of May it announced a 10% drop in turnover for its Imaging and Printing Group business, contributing to an overall 3% drop of group turnover to $30.7 billion (around £19.7 billion). Consumer print, with a 15% drop suffered more than commercial systems, which only declined by 4%. The company announced that it was shedding 27,000 jobs worldwide in a bid to cut costs, and also merging its printing and computer operations.
Contact: www.hp.com
