At K 2022, the Circular Economy Forum will show how the circular economy works in practice.
Düsseldorf, 19 October 2022 – The Circular Economy Forum at K 2022 opened its gates, in perfect time for the start of the trade fair. For eight days, plastics machinery manufacturers will showcase technological solutions for a functioning circular economy across more than 4,000 square metres on the open-air site between Halls 10 and 16. Seven companies are represented there with their own pavilions, while six have joined forces in a large collective stand.

“A jolt has gone through our industry. The companies in the plastics machinery industry are in a spirit of optimism, they are determined to implement the circular economy. It is why they have pulled out all the stops here at the trade fair to show the public what is already working today, and what will be possible in the future,” said Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery, at the opening event in Düsseldorf. VDMA is the initiator and organiser of the forum.

Operational machines at the fair

With the machines in full operation at the fair, visitors to the Forum can learn, for example, how high-quality re-granulate is produced again from plastic waste, and how these re-granulates are reprocessed with various processing techniques into highly functional products, which in turn can be recycled again. In addition to the circular economy, the Circular Economy Forum also focuses on the two other leading topics of the K: climate protection and digitalisation.

A demonstration will be held to show how high-tech solutions help to save CO2, for example through energy optimisation of production processes – and what a decisive role digital networking plays in this regard.

At the centre of the forum, there is the VDMA Dome, the central point of contact for information about the circular economy, and simultaneously an important place for mutual professional exchange in the plastics world. There, visitors can also view the individual process steps of the circular economy with the help of the installation “The Machine”. Here, 40 companies will show their technology highlights of the circular economy through video clips and product samples. The spectrum ranges from sorting, shredding and washing via re-granulation, material handling and the most important processing methods, to downstream process steps such as ultrasonic welding, surface treatment and thermoforming.
The Circular Enonomy Forum is open every day of the fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery
More than 200 companies are members of the trade association, covering over 90 percent of the industry’s production in Germany. Ten percent of our member companies come from Austria, Switzerland, and France. German member companies represent a turnover of 7 billion euros in core machinery and 10 billion euros including peripheral technology. Every fourth plastics machine manufactured worldwide comes from Germany in terms of value; the export quota is 70 percent. Ulrich Reifenhäuser, managing partner of Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co KG, is the chairman of the trade association.