Extrusion International 6-2016

K 2016 REVIEW 26 Extrusion International 6/2016 www.k-online.com www.illig.de at many stands. Commenting on this Ulrich Reifenhäuser said: “The possibilities the Internet of Things brings stimulates strong, serious in- terest – especially 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.” Machine and plant manufacturing, which occupies the biggest exhibition area at K 2016 with over 1,900 exhibitors, was also the centre of attraction for visitors; a good two thirds of all experts polled ranked this segment first. 46% said they were predominantly interested in raw and auxiliary materials, while for 25% semi-finished products and technical parts made of plastic and rubber were the main reason for coming (multiple choice possible). Albeit the smaller sector of the two, the rubber industry made a highly visible appearance at K 2016 and un- derscored its importance in the areas of mobility, leisure, household and energy. Visitors came from all important user industries – from the construction sector and automotive to packag- ing and electrical as well as medical device technology not forgetting agriculture. They all again gave top scores to the ranges on display in the 19 exhibition halls: 97% ensured that they had reached their goals 100% while 96% said they were impressed with the line-up at K 2016. Also going down well with the ex- perts from throughout the world was the line-up of accompanying events at K 2016, especially the Spe- cial Show “Plastics shape the future” and the Science Campus. The Special Show, a central forum for swapping information, thoughts and opinions in Hall 6, complemented the exhibits at K for the ninth time now. This year saw individual themed days illustrate the impact plastics have on shaping modern living environments. The agenda featured both expert dis- cussions and entertaining presenta- tions and sports activities as well as exciting experiments. At the Science Campus exhibitors and visitors to K 2016 obtained a focused overview of scientific activities and results in the plastics and rubber sectors and were given the opportunity to make con- tact with numerous universities, insti- tutes and sponsoring organisations. The next K in Düsseldorf will take place from 16 to 23 October 2019. mation on news and trends. By their own accounts, numerous visitors wish to immediately convert these new insights in investment: 60% of industry decision-makers said they had visited the trade fair with con- crete intentions to buy while 58% had already found new suppliers. With these new purchases visitors first and foremost pursued three objectives for their enterprises: ex- pand their product portfolio, extend production capacity and increase efficiency. The results of the visitor survey also confirm the positive busi- ness situation in the downstream sectors of the plastics and rubber industries: 60% of the visitors polled rate the current situation as “very good” and “good” while the same percentage even expect the situa- tion to improve over the next twelve months. Energy, material and resource effi- ciency were the dominating themes at K 2016. Also meeting with avid interest were new materials, inno- vative recycling concepts, new ap- plication areas for organic plastics and additive manufacturing. Smart, quick and flexible lines and services were in high demand among cus- tomers; Industry 4.0 dominated not only lectures and discussions but was also demonstrated hands-on