How to deal with today’s trying 
business conditions

Get out with your colleagues and take in the big show.

Every three years for as long as I’ve been in this industry (which I now count in decades), an event occurs that simply amazes me. I’m blown away by it every time it happens. It’s the K show in Düsseldorf, Germany, and it is happening this month, starting Oct. 27 and running through Nov. 3.

If you didn’t know before, my name is Rob and I’m a plastics trade show addict. The bigger they are, the more I like them. Don’t try saving me. Not only do I not want to kick this habit, I have to wonder why anyone who is part of the plastics industry isn’t as jazzed as I am by the shows. Yes, they’re tiring—exhausting, to be more exact. Your feet hate you for days afterward. But so what? Our whole industry is on display, and it’s there just for me—and for you, if you go.

This year is a particularly good time to go. The industry is recovering—not as quickly as we’d like, but it is—and K 2010 is the perfect place to raise your level of technology and your spirits. There is hard evidence to support that statement.

Exhibitors have been sending us information on what they will be exhibiting, and in case you thought the industry’s poor year in 2009 would have a negative effect on what would be on display at the K, think again. There will be plenty of new technology to check out, from materials and additives to machinery, auxiliaries, automation, tooling, and many exciting applications.

Some of the evidence is previewed in the October issue of IMM. We’ve condensed as much as we could, but in reality we’ve barely opened the lid. After the show is over, you’ll find that our December issue will be a K Showcase, a collection as big as we can make it of what we saw spread across that sprawling fairgrounds. If you can’t go, it’s the next best thing. During K 2010 we will be posting news from Düsseldorf at k.plasticstoday.com.

What we won’t be able to put in the Showcase, or even on the website, will be the energy that’s always in the air at the K. And that’s a shame, for it may be the best reason for going. It’s a healthy antidote for the dreary news we hear every day.
I could go on and on about the show, so let’s just say, hope to see you there. —Rob Neilley