Optimistic outlook for K 2007

The worldwide plastics and rubber industry is putting its best foot forward in this K year. Machine builders, raw materials manufacturers and processors can boast good results and, a few risk factors aside, the outlook for the coming months is optimistic. Experts of the industry judge the initial results for 2007 very promising. The upturn, it seems, has penetrated all industry sectors without exception from production/distribution through machine building and processing to recycling. It is seen as a favourable sign that not only the economic climate has improved but the catch-up process on the investment backlog of the last two years is filling order books.

Against this welcome backdrop, exhibitors are working at full tilt to put on a convincing show of innovations for visitors to the world’s No. 1 plastics and rubber fair, to be staged from 24 to 31 October 2007. More than 3,000 companies will showcase their latest developments for all industry segments at the premier event in Düsseldorf. The spectrum of suppliers extends from major global players to start-ups and the product palette from standard raw materials to individually customised tools. All the building blocks needed for optimal production conditions at each step in the process will be available, starting with basic materials, moving on to plant and machinery and culminating in complex solutions for various user industries.

K 2007 is fully booked. The area covered by exhibitors will be roughly 8,000 square metres larger than in 2004 and adds up to a net of more than 168,000 square metres. This expansion is being made possible by the construction of a new exhibition hall in the north of the Düsseldorf Trade Fair Center which will be completed on schedule in autumn 2007. Even after the extension, the intuitive breakdown of K into the following segments will remain intact:

• Machinery and equipment
• Raw materials, auxiliaries
• Semi-finished products, technical parts and reinforced plastic products as well as
• Services

Suppliers of machinery and equipment are traditionally the largest exhibitor contingent at K. This year, they will be occupying 115,000 square metres of floor space – an increase of some 2,000 square metres on the previous event and equivalent to about two thirds of the total exhibition area. Halls 1 to 4 and 9 to 17 are reserved for this exhibitor group. Manufacturers of raw materials, semi-finished products and technical parts will be setting up shop in Halls 5 to 8a. Of that area, 36,000 square metres of net space will be used to accommodate raw materials suppliers. This is up some 5,000 square metres from K 2004 and will account for a good fifth of the total floor space. Stretched across 13,000 net square metres, the section dedicated to processors has remained at a constant size compared with the previous event (just under 8 percent of the total exhibition area). The new Hall 8b will serve as the interface between the product segments.

About 57 percent of the exhibition space has been booked by companies based outside Germany. In line with tradition, Italy will make the strongest showing with companies from that country alone displaying their products over about 30,000 net square metres. Also out in force will be Switzerland (8,300 square metres), Austria (6,500 square metres), Taiwan (5,300 square metres) as well as France, the UK and USA (each with over 4,000 square metres). All in all, the companies participating in K 2007 come from 58 countries around the world.

The companies’ exhibits will be rounded out by a special presentation entitled “Plastics pack the punch!”. Abundant examples will illustrate polymers’ contribution to the fundamental functions of packaging: providing protection, information and an attractive appearance. These principles will be explored in solutions as understood in the broadest terms, encompassing far more than product packaging in the strict sense. Intelligent, high-tech materials will be featured along with aspects of transport and production just as environmental protection and sustainability will share the spotlight with aesthetic and design concerns.

The buzzword for K 2007 is “Turning Vision into Business”. The world’s No. 1 trade fair for plastics and rubber, to be staged from Wednesday, 24 October to Wednesday, 31 October 2007 between 10am and 6.30pm daily, will occupy all the halls (1 to 17) of the Düsseldorf Trade Fair Center. Already today, anyone can find out what will be on offer at K 2007, who is exhibiting and which countries will be represented once again or for the first time. Online at http://www.k-online.de/, the list of exhibitors can be viewed.