Optimism surrounds K 2010 at preview event

Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, and possible recovery, the upcoming K 2010 show in Dusseldorf, Germany shows early signs of promise, organizers told attendees during the official show preview.  

“After the hard times in which many companies have had to fight for survival, we are delighted in the satisfying course that the year 2010 has taken to date,” said Werner Dornscheidt, president and CEO of show owner Messe Dusseldorf GmbH. “We’re confidently hopeful of a continuation of the positive business trend. I’m sure that K 2010 will play its part in demonstrating the power of the plastics sector.”

While the definitive number of companies that will be attending the event, which runs between October 27 and November 3, is not yet known, as of June 10 exhibitors from 55 countries have registered.

Some 60 per cent of the exhibition space will be occupied by companies based outside of Germany. The top two exhibiting countries so far?  Italy, with 401 firms registered to exhibit at the show, followed by China, with 241 companies. More than 100 American companies have registered to date, a slight drop in relation to the K 2007 event. Currently, 20 companies from Canada have registered to exhibit.

All 19 of the available exhibition halls at the Messe Dusseldorf exhibition grounds will be occupied, attendees of the preview were told.

Despite the overall sense of optimism, speakers at the preview warned that the threat of a so-called “double-dip” recession still lingers, with unknown potential effects for K 2010. “The developments of the first quarter of 2010 and subsequent months so far leave us confident for a positive development in 2010 across the globe,” Dr. Gunter Hilken, chairman of WVK, the trade association of the German plastics industry, told the preview attendees. “It remains to be seen, however, whether this general trend will last for the rest of the year. We believe in a sustainable growth path for the plastics industry, but we caution against inflated optimism.”

The preview ran from June 13 to 17, with some 80 journalists in attendance – including from Canadian Plastics – and nine well-known exhibitors giving presentations.