200 participants at the annual general meeting of the VDM North Rhine-Westphalia in Munster the printing industry in North Rhine-Westphalia are looking optimistically to the future. As Oliver Curdt, Managing Director of the Association of print + media NRW e.V., with 700 member companies, one of the largest national associations of the printing industry in Germany, during yesterday’s and today’s annual general meeting in Munster stressed, would be needed despite all prophecies of print products in the future, demand and produced. The economic and public life and work much more would be poorer without printing products, it simply would not work, as the quintessence of the event came to the 200 representatives of print shops, agencies and publishers in the hotel Krautkramer. The CEO made it clear that North Rhine-Westphalia was Germany print site no. 1 in 2009. Employees not only that 23% of all printers and print service providers in Germany here have their headquarters, also just under 32,000 or 1/5 of all in the industry working in local companies. The same applies also for the training rate: with 1,330 new trainees last year, the printing industry in North Rhine-Westphalia Germany again at the top, and this is already for many years. The training quota scams in North Rhine-Westphalia between 8-10%, in some establishments still.

Again in 2009, 26 percent of industry sales, which decreased in 2009 to 6.8%, came from North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Curdt, also the 34 companies and around 1/3 of all prize winners were awarded last year at major industry awards are testament to the good position of the NRW – printing industry. At a festive reception which also Cathedral Mayor Karin Rafeeque was attended, they were presented yesterday evening again and honored by the Association. Getting so many outstanding winners from North Rhine-Westphalia, illustrates”the special position of our State in the printing and media industry, so Uitc in his eulogy.