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2016 | news K2016 sets new attendance record


Visitor numbers for K2016 set a new record of 230,000, underpinning its place as the number one plastics technology exhibition


After all the build up, K2016 did not disappoint. With 230,000 visitors recorded over the eight days of the show, attendance was up by 5.5% on the previous event in 2013 and the mood of visitors could only be described as positive. “For many exhibi- tors…it was the most successful K of all times,” said Ulrich Reifenhaüser, Chair of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association within the German VDMA trade organisation and also Chair of the K2016 Exhibitors Advisory Board. “We travelled to Dusseldorf with optimistic expectations and these expectations were even exceeded.” The growth in visitor


numbers for the 2016 show more than compensated for the 2% decline that organiser Messe Dusseldorf recorded between the 2010 and 2013 editions, emphasising the strong, if not completely cloud-free, state of the world


represented, with 10,000 and 5,700 visitors respectively, but the organiser also reported strong turnouts from South Korea and Iran. Across the machinery halls,


K2016 welcomed a record 230,000 visitors, with 70% of those coming from outside of Germany


economy and underlining the exhibition’s place as the global plastics and rubber trade fair. “Just the sheer number of experts visiting K 2016 impressively confirm the appeal and importance of the trade fair,” said Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. In common with other German trade show organisers, in the past Messe Dusseldorf has used an analysis of a sample of around 3,000 visitors to calculate the geographical split of visitors. Some have questioned the reliability of this


technique – in 2013 this showed an international share of 58%. For this year’s show it switched to a near full analysis of visitor registrations, revealing an even larger international share of close to 70%. Unsurprisingly, visitors


from other parts of Europe make up a significant portion of the international attend- ance. This year Italy topped the table with more than 10,000 visitors, followed by the Netherlands at around 9,500, France around 6,700, Belgium with some 6,300, and Spain and Poland with around 5,000 each. North American visitor numbers totalled 8,400 (compared to 8,200 in 2013) with the majority – 6,900 –from the US. However, the strongest


Ulrich Reifenhaüser: expectations exceeded


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Werner Matthias Dornscheidt: confirmed importance


growth in attendance was seen from the Asia and Middle East regions. According to Messe Dusseldorf statistics, Asia accounted for some 29,000 visitors this year (up from 23,000 in 2013) while the Middle East accounted for 11,500 (up from 10,500). India and China were the best


the most dominant theme was Industry 4.0 – German industry’s vision of connected smart manufacturing that is rapidly catching on worldwide. “The possibilities the Internet of Things brings stimulates strong, serious interest – espe- cially among younger, IT-savvy customers from throughout the world. Industry 4.0 is a theme of the future that will keep us busy for years to come,” said Reifenhaüser. As with any new concept,


Industry 4.0 raises as many questions, if not more, than it can currently answer so the VDMA used the show to run a series of lectures and debates pulling in experts from across the manufacturing sector. “With our focal theme Industry 4.0 we have shown how important this topic is for our industry and the status quo of the plastics and rubber machinery industry,” said VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association Managing Director Thorsten Kühmann. This entire series of debates – held in English and German – was recorded and can be viewed online here (including a final wrap-up panel featuring Compounding World Editor-in-Chief Chris Smith). l Messe Dusseldorf also announced the dates for the next K show - 16 to 23 October 2019. ❙ www.k-online.com


November 2016 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15


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