At K 2010 — the 18th International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber (Düsseldorf, Germany; October 27–November 3) — some 3,100 exhibitors from 57 countries will present the latest developments from all sectors of the plastics and rubber industry. The exhibition occupies 17 halls and covers an exhibit area of about 1.7-million ft2.
Manufacturers of machinery and equipment are traditionally the largest group of exhibitors at the K-Show, and will occupy Halls 1 to 4 and 9 to 17, which account for about two-thirds of the total exhibition area. Suppliers of raw materials, semi-finished products and technical parts will be exhibiting in Halls 5 to 8a. Hall 8b, at the interface between the thematic exhibition zones, will house, among other things, the joint presentation by the Chinese industry.
The exhibition will be supplemented by future-oriented elements, which will be dealt with in the special review “Visions in Polymers,” organized by the German plastics industry under the auspices of PlasticsEurope Deutschland e.V. and Messe Düsseldorf. In daily panel discussions, top academics and experienced users will address questions such as what our daily lives will look like 20 years from now, and how plastics can contribute to solving major problems. On the basis of examples from different areas of life, speakers will explain which development trends can be discerned, and which innovations the industry has in its pipelines. Special emphasis will be placed on the themes of energy efficiency and resource conservation.
What follows is a small sample of some of the new products being exhibited at K 2010.