Rendezvous at K 2013

Düsseldorf (D), 16th to 23rd October 2013.”The” international plastics and rubber fair is scheduled to host a growing number of exhibitions (3,138 from 56 countries) over a floorspace also on the increase (171,033 net sqm). The Italians are still the most numerous among foreign exhibitors (about 400), but others are catching: this year the Chinese companies participating at the fair will be 342.

The figures released by Messe Düsseldorf on the eve of K 2013 reflect the balance of the international economy, with a east of the world on the rise, albeit in a disorderly fashion, compared to a west that is relatively static but that still has all its technological power to bring to bear. And it is also because the two halves of the globe are getting closer and closer, that the major international events are getting even more interesting. K is no exception and promises a wealth of ideas and viewpoints, both technical and commercial. And besides being a particularly important occasion to check more closely on "who does what" and how knowhow and products are evolving in the industry, it is obviously also and above all a great marketplace, where all are hoping to encounter the “right” partner, idea or opportunity. As exhibitors but also as visitors, they are there to buy but also to sell, or at least to grasp, understand, learn from the signs that might point the way.

Packaging, important outlet. Packaging is one of the classic areas of application of plastics and, especially in its "flexible" version, is generally seen, all things considered, to be standing up to the crisis. For example in Germany, Europe’s foremost economy and host and prime guest of K, in 2012 sales of packaging and plastic film decreased by 0.4%, held back among other things by the continuous raw material and energy price hikes. The recovery, however, has already been profiled for the current year and the local producers’ association is optimistic. One of the many signs of an encouraging change underway is the growth of the niche of bioplastics: a niche, specify the organizers of K, which is widening, supported by a series of favorable laws (the ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags for one and for all) and the market entry of new players with large projects. in Italy Eni is concentrating on Matrìca, while Holland is making every effort in its aim to become “the home of green chemicals” by 2050; in Asia other countries are setting themselves similar objectives, Thailand in particular. The market for bio-renewable materials, where however, definitions and performance need to be clarified -  according to recent estimates by Frost & Sullivan - will grow by more than 19% between now and 2019.
 
Events. But the figures alone are not enough. That the sector of the plastics and rubber industry is crucial for the industry and society in general is not in question, what changes is to what degree and in what way. It is no coincidence that the two guiding concepts of K 2013 are Innovation and Environment, to which the organizers of the German event, and of course the exhibitors, pay particular attention, with the goal encouraging the emerging and testing of content, and their correct interpretation. Among the many initiatives that animate the fair multiplying its cultural and communicational value, we highlight two that are worth a visit.

• The exhibition “Plastics move the world!”, interactive and spectacular event organized in Hall 6 of the exhibition. A show that bears witness to the tendency of the B2B trade fairs towards experiential events and documents both the contribution of plastics to various aspects of civilization as well as they ways plastics might solve the problems of the future and safeguard resources for the world of tomorrow. Also in the spotlight a series of housing solutions with high energy efficiency, the medicine of the future, water treatment and the availability of food for a population continuously on the increase... The fields of application are varied and will be illustrated by influential speakers and experts from science and industry. And on Sunday 20th October, as a tribute to the World Youth Day, a series of round table discussions will be organized where young people will be able to meet and make exchanges with the “old” lions in the industry.

• This year K will host the first edition of the Science Campus in Hall 7.0 of the fair, comprising 16 universities, institutes and agencies that are pioneering technologies and solutions in the various fields of application. In the discussion forum at the center of the campus surfaces, functional integration, reduction of materials, renewable and recyclable materials, training will be among the subjects broached. Among the exhibitors la crème della crème of German research with the Fraunhofer Institutes leading the way, with the Institute of Polymer Engineering at the University of Stuttgart not to mention others following on close behind. We hope for the future participation of Italian and other institutions of the same level and that this space might be extended to include the best of research from all around the world.