This year marks the 29th edition of Fakuma, the trade show for the plastics processing industry in Friedrichshafen, Germany that since its launch in 1981 has grown into one of Europe’s leading plastics events. The show is held every year except the years in which a K Show takes place, making it, as one company put it, the ‘first port of call after K’.
This year, the show, which takes place 15-19 October, is again, sold out. It has attracted some 1,636 exhibitors from every aspect of the industry and promises to continue the upward trend in visitor’s numbers that started last year – the first show after the pandemic.
Key themes and highlights
Efficiency will be a key topic at Fakuma 2024 – on several levels and from a variety of perspectives. Increased efficiency in terms of materials and energy consumption is crucial, as are process efficiency and the efficient operation of production systems. The relentless shortage of qualified personnel in the market is compelling processors to look for alternative solutions, in the form of increased automation - easy-to-use control systems and digital assistance. At Fakuma, the new tools and systems designed to address the challenges facing processors in terms of energy and resource efficiency, performance and sustainability; challenges especially relevant for German processors, who are required to comply with the new Energy Efficiency Act.
With an overall focus on digitalisation, automation, flexibility, energy efficiency and sustainability, the show is in step with the times and wholly aligned with the trends and challenges facing the industry today, including responsibility for end-of-life solutions.
Next to the anticipated innovations in plastics processing machinery, such themes as design for recycling and sustainable packaging, recyclate quality, new recycling compounds and recycling technologies will also be in evidence, with exhibits varying from resource-efficient innovations in the field of industrial 3D printing, the potential of metal-to-plastic substitution and the increasing use of renewably sourced raw materials demonstrating the sheer scope of the show.
Sustainable Plastics Fakuma newsletter
We’ll be sending weekly updates until the exhibition opens, providing a look at a tiny selection of what visitors to Friedrichshafen can expect to see.