Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024 - 4

FAKUMA 2024
4 * Plastics News, October 17, 2024
Success, stumbling blocks
both part of Fakuma 2024
By David Vink
Plastics News Correspondent
The main themes of Fakuma
2024 are effi ciency, sustainability
and the circular economy,
according to Annemarie Schur,
project manager for the 29th edition
of the trade show in Friedrichshafen,
Germany.
The plastics industry is faced
with many tasks, especially increasing
costs, where all possible
levers have to be operated, the
only way to manage under hard
competition. It means processes
have to run in a stable way, Schur
said, so that low piece part costs
are achieved.
" One is really forced to produce
more effi ciently, " Schur said.
Design for
recycling
is
becoming
more important and
requires not only better materials,
but also new business models,
Schur said. All these things
require pragmatism yet discussion
in a friendly way and in a
positive mood during the days
spent by exhibitors and trade
fair visitors in Friedrichshafen,
Schur said.
Schur, from show organizer P.E.
Schall GmbH, presented data on
this year's exhibitors at the opening
news conference. There are
1,639 exhibitors over the 85,000
square meters taken up at the
fairground by 12 halls, including
11 exhibitors in the special startup
area fi rst introduced at Fakuma
2023.
A total of 778 exhibitors came
from outside Germany, representing
a 47.5 percent share compared
with 44 percent in 2023.
The foreign contingent of exhibitors
were led by China (160), followed
by Italy (142), Switzerland
(81), Austria (75), Turkey (51)
and France (49).
Managing Director Bettina
Schall referred to the traditional
way that Fakuma creates a platform
to discuss new products,
applications and solutions - but
also problems.
" The wind has become stronger, "
Schall said, " not only in
the plastics industry; there are
many complex challenges to be
mastered. "
She referred to a combination
of increasing raw material
costs, high energy bills, the
push for environment sustainability,
severe political and
economic diffi culties, changing
politics and the need to manage
a severe shortage of professionally
trained staff.
" Each one of these challenges
is already on its own complex
and diffi cult to manage, but extremely
so when all of it has to
be done at the same time, but
we just have to deal with them, "
Schall said.
She remained optimistic,
however, stating: " We are sure
that the days at Fakuma 2024
will contribute to ensuring that
constructive approaches will be
made step by step. This fair is
an excellent opportunity to discuss
personally at eye level on
how to fi nd possibilities to realize
new ideas. "
It is an important platform to
make new contacts, maintain
existing contacts and fi nd new
ideas, Schall said. She referred in
this context to the second roundtable
event, this time on digitalization
and whether it is " top or a
fl op " in plastics processing.
Schall also referred to the " Mold
Your Dreams, Mold Your Future "
event on Oct. 18, aimed at interesting
young people, school children,
students and those starting
jobs in plastics careers. Participants
can enter a lottery to win a
Zeppelin balloon fl ight for two.
Guest speaker Michael Braungart
of Hamburg, Germany-based
EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung
GmbH spoke about
applying
his
mission
of
cradle-to-cradle
design to the plastics
industry.
Although Braungart has been a
Greenpeace activist, he was critical
of Greenpeace calling for consumers
to avoid plastics and also
of PlasticsEurope for its " Plastics
Fantastic " slogan.
Other key points from his presentation
included a suggestion
to drastically reduce the number
of plastics materials to mainly
PET, in a similar way that East
Germany picked polypropylene
as its standard material because
that was what was available before
reunifi
cation,
Braungart
said. If he had his way, he would
prefer more products such as
window frames and pipes to also
be made in PET, as long as it is
antimony-free.
He was very critical about
worldwide use of 700,000 metric
tons per year of PVC in blister
packaging. In general, he advocated
eco-effectiveness as being
preferable as a business model
to eco-effi ciency and praised
introduction of Puma's Incycle
biodegradable and recyclable
shoe collection.
On the subject of microplastics
in the oceans, Braungart cited
statistics showing that 0.3 percent
comes from plastic pellets
and 2 percent from personal care
products. The lion's share comes
from synthetic textiles with 35
percent and car tires with 28 percent,
Braungart said.
Guest speaker Michael
Braungart of Hamburg,
Germany-based
EPEA Internationale
Umweltforschung GmbH
speaks at the opening
press conference at
Fakuma 2024.
The wind has
become stronger
not only in the plastics
industry; there are many
complex challenges to
be mastered. "
Bettina Schall
P.E. Schall GmbH
Plastics News photos by Caroline Seidel
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024

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