3,218 exhibitors show their innovative power at K 2013

The plastics and rubber industry’s biggest trade exhibition opens its doors today, 16 October. K 2013, which runs until 23 October in Düsseldorf, takes pride in having the largest array of products and live demonstrations on the show floor. The net exhibition space covers an impressive size of 171,000 square metres, with the Düsseldorf exhibition centre’s 19 halls all filled to capacity.

As Ulrich Reifenh?user, chairman of the Exhibitors Council of K 2013, emphasised at the press conference before the trade fair: “For months, machine builders, raw materials producers and processors around the globe have been preparing intensively for the biggest event on the industry’s calendar. Development departments have been working flat out to be sure they will convince trade visitors with new features and innovations that will meet the demands for resource conservation and energy efficiency in materials, machinery, technologies and applications.”

The spectrum of suppliers ranges from large global players to small start-ups, and the array of products from commodities through to tailor-made tools or microparts. Werner M. Dornscheidt, President and CEO, Messe Düsseldorf: “Nowhere else in the world can one experience the breadth of raw materials, processing and application technologies as completely as at K in Düsseldorf. This is where all the premium providers show their groundbreaking innovations, because this is where they expect to meet a highly international audience of experts. I am confident that there will again be more than 200,000 trade visitors from all over the world who will not miss this opportunity to be at K 2013 to experience today's trends, developments for tomorrow, and visions for the far future.”

Exhibitors come from 59 countries

The exhibitors at K 2013 come from 59 countries. They include suppliers from Europe, with especially large numbers from Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France. What is remarkable is that South European countries that were hard hit by the Euro crisis – such as Italy, Spain and even Greece – have the same or even a larger presence at K 2013 than in 2010.

The German plastics and rubber industry is presenting itself on almost 40 per cent, that is 66,497 square metres, of the total space. At the same time, changes in the world market are clearly reflected at K: The number of companies from Asia and the presentation space booked by them have strongly increased since the 2010 event. The net exhibition space of the five largest Asian exhibitor nations China, Taiwan, India, Japan and South Korea is almost one third larger (just under 18,800 sqm in 2010, almost 25,000 sqm in 2013).

Special show “Plastics move the world”

The exhibitors’ own diverse ranges of products and services are supplemented by a comprehensive supporting programme. The now traditional special show in hall 6, this year entitled “Plastics move the world”, should not be missed. The show brings into the limelight the contributions plastics can make to a “life on the move”. The term “move” covers a very broad range here. It includes not only the direct contributions that plastics make to the different facets of mobility but also the ways in which they can “move” in the emotional sense, for examAir Max 90 LTHR Suede