Breaking new ground

Further development is an innate human urge. It seems like part of our evolution to work towards acquiring, accumulating, improving and passing on knowledge and skills. Obstacles,however high or unpredictable, are perceived as challenges. People are lifelong pioneers. The more difficult the path, the greater the incentive to find a passage. Despite all progress, however, it is sensible and intelligent to pause for a moment and check whether the path once taken is still the right one, whether the goal set is still worth aiming for or if a course correction be called for. There will a lot of great successes and pioneering achievements to talk about when the international plastics and rubber industry gathers in Düsseldorf for K 2019 from 16 to 23 October.

Over the past decades, the plastics and rubber industry has made a lasting difference to our world. The fact that the limits of what is humanly possible have been pushed further and further upwards is closely linked to the development and production of highperformance polymer materials. With its innumerable products and the many welltrained, differently qualifed professionals in the industry worldwide, it plays a key role.

It supplies all industrial sectors and research felds with materials that enable leaps of innovation, as we know them from the automotive and aviation industries. Safe food, patientspecifc healthcare, mobility, electricity, communication, resource conservation – plastics and rubber make an essential contribution in all areas of our daily lives.

The innovative strength of the plastics and rubber industry is more in demand today than ever. New challenges are arising that require deep knowledge of the development and production of polymers. It is not least a question of developing materials that deliver exemplary performance in their application yet do not become a problem in the long term, even if they enter the environment uncontrolled.

The solution to this problem requires a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the material and the technology that only the plastics and rubber industry has. It is part of the solution to upcoming tasks and challenges. At K 2019, the industry will be presenting its new products and forwardlooking innovations.

Young researchers from FabLab Lübeck e.V. will also be on hand at the special show at K in Hall 6 to demonstrate where additive manufacturing, robotics and modern materials such as plastics are heading. Their humanoid robot – a genuine high-tech pioneering achievement by northern German students of computer science, engineering and psychology. Living proof that history is always made by people.