K (trade fair)
Comment: This is need to be rewritten without the use of AI/LLM. Also be mindful for WP:CORPTRIV and WP:TRADES. S0091 (talk) 15:14, 12 October 2026 (UTC)
| K | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries |
| Begins | 8 October 2025 |
| Ends | 15 October 2025 |
| Frequency | Triennial |
| Venue | Düsseldorf Fairgrounds |
| Location(s) | Düsseldorf |
| Country | Germany |
| Inaugurated | 1952 |
| Next event | 18–25 October 2028 |
| Participants | 3,246 exhibitors (2025) |
| Attendance | 168,660 (2025) |
| Area | 177,279 m² net (2025) |
| Organised by | Messe Düsseldorf |
| Website | www |
K, also referred to as the K Fair or K Show, is a trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries held every three years in Düsseldorf, Germany. It has been organised by Messe Düsseldorf since 1952.[1] German industry associations support the fair, among them Plastics Europe Deutschland, the plastics and rubber machinery association within the VDMA and the rubber industry association WdK.[1] The British Plastics Federation has described it as the largest plastics exhibition in the world.[2]
History
The first edition was held from 11 to 19 October 1952 under the title Wunder der Kunststoffe ("Miracles of Plastics"). It was staged by the Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellungs-Gesellschaft (NOWEA), as Messe Düsseldorf was then called.[3][4] The 270 exhibiting companies, all of them from Germany, occupied about 14,000 square metres of net exhibition space, and 165,000 people visited the fair.[4] It was opened by the Federal President, Theodor Heuss.[5]
Until 1959 only German companies exhibited, and the fair was open to the general public. The displays concentrated on consumer goods such as household articles, PVC raincoats and nylon stockings, which Kunststoff Magazin later described as emblems of the Wirtschaftswunder aesthetic.[4][6] As the industry specialised and engineering plastics for electronics, medicine, cars and aerospace gained in importance, the share of private visitors fell. In 1963 the K became a trade-only fair.[4] One of the exhibits that year was the first plastic car body produced in series in Germany.[5][6]
By the late 1960s the fair had outgrown the old exhibition grounds on Fischerstraße. At the 1967 edition, 20 per cent of the requests for stand space could not be met. After the industry associations threatened to move to other cities, the city council decided on 20 September 1968 to move the exhibition grounds to the Stockum district. The K was the first event held on the new site, in September 1971.[3] Exhibitors use the fair to present new products, and international companies have taken part since the 1970s.[6]
In the run-up to the 2019 edition, Plastics Technology wrote that the circular economy would be the dominant theme of the fair and that leading suppliers of materials and additives had increased their focus on sustainability and recycling.[7] The 2022 edition marked the seventieth anniversary of the fair. According to the British Plastics Federation, it recorded 22 per cent fewer visitors than the 2019 edition, partly because few visitors came from China.[2]
Scope and format
The exhibition is divided into machinery and equipment, raw materials and auxiliaries, semi-finished products and technical parts, and services, research and science.[8] Admission is restricted to trade visitors.[1]
The 2025 edition was held under the motto "The Power of Plastics! Green – Smart – Responsible", with the circular economy, digitalisation and social responsibility as its three main themes.[8] According to the organiser, suppliers of materials presented bio-based materials, recycled compounds and new additives, and visitors were mainly interested in recycling, resource conservation, automation and artificial intelligence.[9]
Special shows
The official special show, "Plastics Shape the Future", is organised by Plastics Europe Deutschland together with Messe Düsseldorf. In 2025 it occupied 600 square metres in hall 6 and hosted daily discussions with representatives of industry and science.[8] The VDMA ran a forum with live demonstrations of circular production processes.[9] At the Science Campus, universities and research institutes present their work.[10] A Start-up Zone for young technology companies was introduced in 2022.[11] Rubber Street, an area for the elastomer industry run under the lead of the rubber industry association WdK, has been part of the fair since 1983.[12][8] New formats in 2025 were a Young Talents Lounge run by the GKV, the umbrella association of German plastics processors, and "Women in Plastics", a networking event for women working in the industry.[13][9]
International participation
Several national trade bodies and government agencies organise joint stands at the fair. At the 2022 edition the British Plastics Federation coordinated a British Pavilion of 25 exhibitors and a meeting area for British visitors supported by the Department for International Trade. In total, 72 exhibitors came from Great Britain.[2] The fair hosts two American pavilions, one for materials and one for machinery, and the U.S. Commercial Service supports American exhibitors.[14] For the 2025 edition, 84 American exhibitors had registered.[8]
Editions and attendance
According to figures published by the British Plastics Federation, each edition between 2007 and 2019 had between about 3,100 and 3,300 exhibitors and between about 217,000 and 242,000 visitors. The 2022 edition had 3,037 exhibitors and more than 176,000 visitors.[2]
The 2025 edition ran from 8 to 15 October. Figures audited by the FKM, the German body that certifies trade fair statistics, show 3,246 exhibitors from 65 countries, 2,452 of them from outside Germany, on 177,279 square metres of net exhibition space. The count recorded 168,660 admissions, about 73 per cent of them by visitors from abroad. After Germany, most exhibitors came from China and Italy, and the largest groups of foreign visitors came from India, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States.[1] The organiser reported 3,275 exhibitors and more than 175,000 visitors.[9] The next edition is scheduled for 18 to 25 October 2028.[14]
Reception
Writing for S&P Global after the 2016 edition, Kristen Hays quoted a petrochemicals trader who called the fair "the one time we can get everyone in the same place". She also reported that, according to some participants, the fair had become so large that hundreds of visitors left after the third day.[15]
In its report on the 2025 edition, the German magazine VDI energie + umwelt set the fair against the weak competitive position of the European plastics industry. Citing Plastics Europe, it reported that the share of world plastics production in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland had fallen from 22 per cent in 2006 to 12 per cent in 2024, and it noted that plastic as a material faced public criticism. Michael Braungart, co-developer of the cradle-to-cradle principle, spoke at the fair as a guest of Plastics Europe Deutschland.[16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "K" (in Deutsch). AUMA – Ausstellungs- und Messe-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "K 2022 Post Show Report". British Plastics Federation. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "50 Jahre Messegelände in Stockum – ein Meilenstein der Düsseldorfer Stadtentwicklung" (Press release) (in Deutsch). Messe Düsseldorf. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Schopen, Annina (28 March 2022). "Wunder der Kunststoffe: 70 Jahre K in Düsseldorf". Kunststoff Magazin (in Deutsch). Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "70 Jahre K in Düsseldorf" (in Deutsch). Messe Düsseldorf. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Stadlmayer, Franziska (18 July 2022). "Von der Verbrauchermesse zur Leistungsschau". KraussMaffei AHEAD (in Deutsch). KraussMaffei. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Sherman, Lilli Manolis (September 2019). "K 2019 Preview: Resins & Additives for Sustainability in Cars, Electronics & Packaging". Plastics Technology. Gardner Business Media. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Hutton, David (8 October 2025). "K 2025 Opens: Global Plastics Innovation Showcase". PlasticsToday. Informa Markets. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Hutton, David (15 October 2025). "K 2025 Plastics Fair Exceeds Expectations". PlasticsToday. Informa Markets. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Pukhovich, Anastasia (7 October 2025). "K 2025: Plastik besser als sein Ruf?". ingenieur.de (in Deutsch). VDI Verlag. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Schopen, Annina (28 February 2022). "K 2022 bietet erstmals eine spezielle Start-Up Zone". Kunststoff Magazin (in Deutsch). Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Albus, Stefan (26 May 2025). "K 2025 zeigt Kautschuk als Schlüsselwerkstoff für die Energiewende". kunststoffindustrie-online.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Laux, Matthias (22 August 2025). "K 2025 rückt Nachhaltigkeit, Digitalisierung und Verantwortung in den Mittelpunkt". packaging journal (in Deutsch). Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Germany Events – K Trade Show". U.S. Commercial Service, International Trade Administration. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Hays, Kristen (28 October 2016). "K Fair: A time to meet and greet for plastics and rubber". S&P Global. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ Ahrens, Ralph H. (30 October 2025). "Kunststoffszene: zwischen Verzweiflung und Hoffnung". VDI energie + umwelt (in Deutsch). VDI Fachmedien. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
External links
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