2004: the year of Drupa!

The largest and most important trade show in the world of paper converting and
printing was held in Düsseldorf from May 6 to 19, 2004. For fifteen days, the latest
innovations, product developments and enhancements in the printing and paper fields
found a common lieu at the renowned Messe Düsseldorf.

For the first time, all the companies of the Körber PaperLink group were present
under one common roof: three Systems, eight Brands, one Group specializing in
sheeting, converting and packaging machinery for the paper, tissue and absorbent
hygiene industries.

In a world in which achieving integration in all aspects of communication, design,

product – and, hence, the market – is among the main aims of all design studios; in a
world in which facing an increasingly exigent demand calls for making your message
clear and easy to read; in a world in which the future lies in the research for
innovation, for Drupa 2004 it was all the more necessary to present a project founded
on a firm relationship between its originality and its concrete use of space.

The main design requirement was rendering the eight brands of the Group – E.C.H.
Will, SHM, Kugler-Womako, Pemco, Wrapmatic, Fabio Perini, Casmatic and
Diatec – capable of communicating, in the 1800-sqm booth, their individual
experience and market knowledge combined with the strength and reliability of an
international group, that of Körber PaperLink.

The guiding line at the design phase was to create an architectural structure that
could facilitate a friendly approach of customers to our products and enable bilateral
communication for all visitors alike.

The result was the creation of an open space, organised in 3 levels. The pivoting
element was the ground floor, completely open onto the pavilion corridors: this
structure favoured continuous exchange with the outside, inviting visitors walking
along corridors to come in and consider the ideas and opportunities offered by the
Kõrber PaperLink world.
Text and images reduced to the bare essentials; white walls to confer the utmost
environmental neutrality; light as the first element for a warm welcome: all this
constituted the ideal context to present the different thematic spaces to visitors.

Different dedicated areas of the ground floor were designated to machinery on

demonstration, customer service infocenter, a conference auditorium, a bar lounge for
relaxing. On the first floor an informal bar/restaurant meeting area; on the second,
offices and meeting rooms.

The continuous stream of visitors flowed easily along the central area of the stand: a
reception space, connoted by a bright yellow, whose potentially strong visual impact
was mitigated, here, too, by the use of white. Its open structure let the light pass
through and created a harmonious rapport with technology, innovation and relax. The
central nucleus, conceived as both a passageway and a meeting point, constituted an
interface between the inside and the outside.

The entire project was based on particular attention to a coordinated image -

something that accompanied visitors during the pre-fair phases and, of course, during
the exhibition itself. Mailings, ad-hoc presentations, stand graphics, machinery
carters, product packaging and promotional give-aways specially created for this
occasion to communicate the KPL Corporate Identity. Koerber PaperLink, “Part of
your success”, the one-stop supplier of system solutions: Three Systems, Eight
Brands, One Group.

So, until the next Drupa, in 2008!

Walter Tamarri
Walter.tamarri@fp.kpl.net