K 2028 advisory board meets in preparation for next show
Düsseldorf, Germany – The inaugural meeting of the Exhibitor Advisory Board has marked the start of the preparations for K 2028. The world’s leading trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry will take place at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, from October 18 – 25, 2028. The Advisory Board supports Messe Düsseldorf in the strategic and conceptual development of K and advises it on fundamental issues regarding the focus, program structure and communication of the trade fair.
At the Advisory Board meeting, the committee unanimously elected Dr Axel von Wiedersperg, CEO of Brückner Group SE, as its new Chairman. He succeeds Ulrich Reifenhäuser, who has led the Advisory Board since 2004 and played a key role in shaping K over the past two decades.
Dr Axel von Wiedersperg holds a doctorate in law and has been Managing Director of the Brückner Group since 2009. He has many years of industry and market knowledge in the plastics and rubber sector, as well as an extensive international network within the industry. He has been a member of the K Exhibitor Advisory Board since 2023 and was therefore already involved in the preparations for K 2025 and the strategic development of the trade fair. In addition, he serves on the board of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.
The meeting focused on a joint review of K 2025, the evaluation of the exhibitor and visitor survey, and an initial outlook for K 2028. Key themes for the upcoming event were discussed and the next steps for the strategic development of the trade fair were initiated.
The K Exhibitor Advisory Board represents the entire spectrum of the trade fair: machinery and plant engineering, the production of plastics and rubber and plastics and rubber processing. It comprises representatives from the exhibiting industry as well as leading industry associations.
The K 2028 Düsseldorf Exhibitor Advisory Board consists of:
Marc Gregor Baier
BBP Kunststoffwerk Marbach Baier GmbH
Dr Christine Bunte
Plastics Europe Deutschland e.V.
Boris Engelhardt
wdk – Wirtschaftsverband der deutschen Kautschukindustrie e.V.
Dr Stefan Engleder
ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH
Dr Guiscard Glück
BASF SE
Manfred Hackl
EREMA Group GmbH
Jochen Hardt
Covestro Deutschland AG
Juliane Hehl
Arburg GmbH & Co. KG
Thomas Holzer
TROESTER GmbH & Co. KG
Jan Karnath
Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co.KG Maschinenfabrik
Thorsten Kühmann
VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association
Dr Oliver Möllenstädt
GKV German Plastics Processing Industry Association
Eric Schönel
SIMONA AG
Ute Spring
Dow Deutschland Anlagengesellschaft mbH
Dr Axel von Wiedersperg
Brückner Group SE
Dr Sascha Witt
Windmöller & Hölscher SE & Co. KG
Michael Wittmann
Wittmann Technology GmbH
K 2028 will again be the global meeting place for the plastics and rubber industry. Leading international suppliers from the mechanical engineering, raw materials and processing sectors, as well as companies from the plastics recycling sector, are expected to participate.
Exhibitor registration for K 2028 will open in January 2027