Now that we've officially entered summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, a lot of us are asking: What's going to happen in the fall?
Many of those questions are coming from parents and teachers who would love to see students back in actual classrooms. For the plastics industry, the question is centering around trade shows. Especially Fakuma in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Last week, national and regional leaders in Germany seemed to indicate that they were at least open to the idea of trade shows if the spread of the coronavirus seems to be under control. The website ka-news.de, which covers the Karlsruhe area of Germany, wrote that Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Baden-Württemberg's minister of economic affairs, wants to see a trade show operations with larger events resume.
"We are of the opinion that there is no longer any reason why larger fairs should not be opened, should the occurrence of infection in fall allow this," a spokeswoman for Hoffmeister-Kraut said in a June 18 interview.
That would cover the region including Friedrichshafen, where Fakuma is set for Oct. 13-17, and seem to be a good sign.
Then on June 22, Wittmann Group said that even if the show goes ahead, it will not participate. There is just too much uncertainty about how to set up a trade show booth while still complying to safety measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"Since, as is generally known, large gatherings of people in particular are an ideal breeding ground for a renewed outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, the Wittmann Group would rather not expose its associates and visitors to such an incalculable health risk," it wrote on its website.
So now the question may not just be if events will take place, but if they do, who will be there?