K 2022 attendance slips about 20 per cent from 2019

Approximately 176,000 visitors came to K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany – the first major international plastics show since the start of the COVID pandemic – which was a drop of about 21 per cent compared with the last show in 2019.

Next to Germany, most European visitors came from the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, France, Belgium, Poland, and Spain. About 42 per cent of visitors came from overseas, show organizers said, which is nearly identical to the percentage in 2019, but with a difference: the number of visitors from the East Asian region, China in particular, was down due to quarantine regulations in those nations.

According to polling taken of attendees, around two-thirds of all visitors ranked machinery and plant construction first in terms of interest. Fifty-seven per cent said they were interested in raw and auxiliary materials, with recyclates and bioplastics being particularly popular. For 28 per cent, semi-finished products and technical parts made of plastics and rubber were the main reason for coming. And over 70 per cent of all visitors come from top and middle management.

For K 2022, the amount of exhibition space actually increased compared with 2019 even though the total number of exhibitors fell slightly. A total of 3,037 exhibitors – including about 20 Canadian companies – took 178,965 square meters, or 1,926,363 square feet, in 2022. That compares with 3,327 exhibitors that used 177,035 square meters, or 1,905,589 square feet, in 2019, organizers said. The big change from 2019 on the exhibitor front is that there were no Russian exhibitors at this year’s show due to the invasion of Ukraine.

K is held every three years, and the 2022 show marked the 70th anniversary. The next K is scheduled for Oct. 8-15, 2025.