In April 2020 ESMA approached all member companies to take the pulse of the European specialist printing manufacturers industry during this challenging period. While the short survey is still open for your input, we are presenting below the first feedback from ESMA members and hope it will provide meaningful insights for your business. This page will be updated on a regular basis. For any comments and suggestions please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The majority of companies who have responded to the survey so far are consumables suppliers (mostly ink producers). The second main group are hardware manufacturers, with consultants (ESMA Technology Partners) being the smallest questioned group.
All responding members are currently open, however some do not operate in full capacity.
Most respondents do not experience raw materials delivery issues. From those who do, majority expects the problems to be solved within 1-2 months.
More than half of the responding ESMA members are involved in Covid-19 relief initiatives, including supply of masks, disinfectant and hand sanitizerproduction, donations to hospitals and emergency units, as well as supply of components and chemicals used in the medical sectors.
All ESMA members participating in the survey are aware of government anti-crisis programmes. The mentioned support covers easy access and guarantees for low-interest loans, as well as employee retention schemes such as part-time work compensation. Members mention also public assistance in introduction of new working safety standards.
As much as the postponement of drupa until 2021 reflects on related product launch delays and project suspensions, the vast majority of respondents do not predict negative impact of Messe Düsseldorf’s decision. There is however a broad awareness that over the next few years all exhibitions may suffer from lower attendance numbers.
Among other negative consequences of the current international situation, ESMA members mention:
- general sales slowdown resulting in furloughs and reductions;
- disorganisation of production, HR and customer support (travel bans);
- the suffering of automotive sector and ripple effect on other industries;
- postponement and cancellation of ongoing business and research projects;
- spending freeze in R&D and limited access to research facilities;
- disturbance in logistics and increase in freight costs.
You still can take the survey here and contribute to a more comprehensive picture of our industry.
