K 2022: Everything you need to know as the historic show turns 70

A concise guide to everything you need to know if you're in Germany for K 2022 this week.

Key stats

With 3,037 exhibitors offering the widest range of innovations along the entire supply chain, K 2022 will provide a complete overview of where the sector is headed.

K 2022 will occupy all 18 exhibition halls as well as large outdoor areas. The ranges on display will include machinery and equipment, raw materials and auxiliaries as well as semi-finished, technical parts and reinforced plastics products.

The exhibitors will represent 60 countries. with strong participation from Europe, particularly from Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France as well as from the USA.

Firms from China, Taiwan, India, South Korea and Japan will make an appearance, despite the current difficult conditions in some of these countries due to quarantine regulations and visa challenges.

The German plastics and rubber industry will be represented with 871 exhibitors on 66,940 square metres (about 38% of the space).

The view from the top

Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf said: “K 2022 is our first major trade fair since the pandemic. With 179,000 sqm of net exhibition area our fairgrounds is completely booked. Not only is K in Düsseldorf the performance barometer of the industry and its global marketplace for innovations but also sets sustainable economic impulses. Especially after the pandemic-induced changes and in a difficult global economic climate it will provide orientation.”

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the exhibitors’ advisory board at K 2022, said: “Polymer materials are indispensable and omnipresent in nearly all sectors of our living environment today. In 2021, global plastics production reached approximately 390,7 m tonnes; in Germany alone, 21 m tonnes were produced in 2021. However, the entire industry faces a variety of challenges such as supply chain issues and exploding energy prices. The need for personal exchange on a global level at K 2022 is enormous, all the more as the plastics industry is undergoing a transformation process towards a circular economy.”

Market overview

The production value of plastics and rubber machinery reached a volume of 38.6 billion euros worldwide in 2021 (2020: 34.2 billion euros). In terms of production value, the largest single nation in plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing in 2021 was China with a 35 percent share, followed by Germany with 19.6 percent and Italy with 7.1 percent. In terms of world trade, German mechanical engineering, with a share of world exports of 22 percent, ranks directly behind the new export champion China with 23.9 percent, Japan with 9.1 and Italy with 8.6 percent. The demand for processing machinery and equipment is present in all important sales markets and will continue to grow.

Manufacturers from Germany closed the year 2021 with a production value of 7.55 billion euros for core machinery and thus 7.6 percent above the values of the previous year.

Topics and themes.

The organisers say that K 2022 will “provide impressive proof” that this industry assumes responsibility and that plastics will in future be part of the solution rather than a problem. The three topics this year will be Circular Economy, Climate Protection and Digitalisation.

Plastics are enablers for lightweight construction, e-mobility, the use of wind and solar energy. And here the circular economy is of vital importance, while digitalisation is an indispensable enabler for transparency and resource efficiency. All three hot topics will also be highlighted in the Specials at K 2022.

The special show "Plastics shape the future" in Hall 6 will demonstrate how crucial plastics are for a sustainable future. It will show which developments are already taking place today and that the visions for tomorrow are on their way to becoming reality. Seven focus days will be held - with discussions on innovative technologies, impulse lectures, demonstrations of pilot projects and more.

The special show will also address economic, ecological and socio-political aspects and present solutions to problems the plastics industry has to deal with. The special show will be a project of the German plastics industry under the auspices of PlasticsEurope Deutschland e. V. and Messe Düsseldorf.

Circular Economy Forum

A Circular Economy Forum will again be held at K this year. In the outdoor area between Halls 10 and 16, the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) as organiser and 13 of its member companies will demonstrate the pivotal importance of technology in the implementation of circular economy in the plastics industry. With machines running, visitors can see how plastic waste is converted into high-quality regranulates or how recyclates are processed into attractive, highly functional and recyclable products through various processing methods.

Start-up Zone

The Start-Up Zone will celebrate its premiere at this year's K in Hall 8b - eleven companies will participate.

Science Campus

Firmly established at K is the Science Campus. This year, everything will revolve around the direct dialogue between research and industry. There will be 25 exhibitors with exciting innovations and research results for the plastics and rubber industry. Among them will be renowned universities, colleges and scientific institutes, such as various Fraunhofer Institutes, the Technical University of Dresden, Tomas Bata University Zlin, Czech Republic and Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands.

When?

K 2022 Düsseldorf will be open daily from Wednesday, 19 October, to Wednesday, 26 October, from 10.00 to 18.30.