Messe Düsseldorf marking 70 years of K with online image gallery
On 11 October 1952, Messe Düsseldorf opened its doors for the inaugural K Show. Now considered the world’s leading trade event for the plastics and rubber industries, K is looking back on its 70 years, and counting, of success.
Named ‘Wunder der Kunststoff’ (Miracles of Plastics), just 270 Germany-based companies registered for the opening event, occupying just 14,000sqm of exhibition space.
165,000 visitors attended to experience post-war innovations such as nylon stockings, PVC raincoats and the ‘unbreakable’ bottle.
Other notable events of 1952
- The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
- ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ makes its cinematic debut
- Compulsory identity cards issued during WWII are abolished
- UK declares nuclear capabilities
- German newspaper Bild founded
- First artificial heart valve implanted in the US
K today
In 1963, 11 years after its debut, K became a specialist industry event and opened its doors to the world. The 2019 event welcomed more than 220,000 visitors from more than 160 countries. K is now the most respected information and business platform of the plastics and rubber industry worldwide. No longer an exclusively German event, its internationality is as unrivalled as its ability to foster business, relationships, and innovations. For K 2022, which will return to the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre (19-26 October), around 3,000 exhibitors from 61 nations are expected. The event is fully booked.
The Interplas Insights team will be there to deliver the latest news, reviews and opinions from the world’s leading industry experts.
Notable businesses that showcased their wares at the inaugural event, and at every edition of the K Show since, include BASF and Wacker Chemie. Reifenhäuser and Battenfeld debuted in 1955. All these businesses will be returning, again, boasting some of the biggest and most eye-catching booths.
Plastics themselves, as well as their applications, have also come a long way in 70 years. From stockings and packaging designed to appeal to ‘the modern housewife’, the range of specialised materials can now be found in every mode of transport from cars and motorbikes to trains, aeroplanes, and even space rockets and satellites, as well as numerous medical devices.
To celebrate these achievements, Messe Düsseldorf has created a microsite featuring images and facts from throughout its history, which is available to view for free.