Fakuma opens with fewer exhibitors but big topics for in-person talks

Organizers of Fakuma 2021 had 1,600 booth reservations early in planning for the event in Friedrichshafen, Germany. But as the show opened Oct. 12, 1,470 booths were occupied.

Bettina Schall, managing director of show organizer P.E. Schall & GmbH Co. KG, said at a press event opening the show that some potential exhibitors expressed concerns about whether they should participate. That is an understandable concern, she said.

That lower number, however, is close to the participation at Fakuma 2018, the last event prior to the pandemic, and the same amount of floor space is being used — 85,000 square meters.

Schall pointed out that Fakuma 2021 is "one of the largest presence fairs this fall." Schall's own Motek/Bondexpo fair, held earlier in October, showed the need for such trade fairs.

"Exhibitors are going with us in the new start and we are happy about this. What counts is that we are making the restart with a lively exhibition, so visitors meet each other again. This is precisely what we have waited for," she said.

Certainly there is much to discuss: recycling, climate, professional staff shortages, digitization, raw material shortages, supply chains, "and all of these themes are not at all trivial."

Fakuma Project Manager Annemarie Schur said this year's exhibitors came from 39 countries, with 800 exhibitors coming from Germany. With foreign exhibitors accounting for 12 percent of the total, Italy leads with 180 exhibitors, followed by 86 from Switzerland and 71 each from Austria and France. Schur said almost all of the exhibitors had planed to attend Fakuma 2020, but Schall was forced to cancel the event: "This was painful," she said.

"We want to go into the future with confidence, large exciting themes, such as e-mobility, circular economy, sustainability. Be assured that this Fakuma offers the platform to master this task," she continued. The image of plastics seems to have become worse than ever, Schur observed, "but they are indispensable." It is easy to say "get rid of plastics, but that is more easily said than done."

In a presentation by Martin Bastian, director of the SKZ Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum institute at Würzburg University, Bastian addressed another shortage, that of students. He explained that there has been a 50 percent drop over the past few years in students willing to study subjects relating to the plastics industry.

"This is an alarm signal," he said. "We spend just 1 percent on workplace training in the plastics industry, yet 3-4 percent on R&D.

"If we forget to invest in the ... people in our industry, we are making a mistake — Fakuma is an ideal platform to discuss this subject," he said.

Bastian added he is also concerned about the poor image of plastics, pointing out that there is ignorance of facts when it comes to plastics' ability to extend food shelf life, that alternatives can weigh as much as 3.6 times more, need 2.2 times more energy or emit 2.7 times more CO2.

"Plastic is not an enemy of the climate. We have to acquire more responsibility by explaining such facts in schools, kindergartens, as well as ensuring products are designed for recycling and exploiting potential to save 30 percent energy in production," he said.

Efforts also have to be made in lobbying politicians. Here, Bastian is particularly upset at the prime minister of the Federal State of Bavaria, Markus Söder, having apparently called for a plastics-free Bavaria, a move that would be difficult for carmakers in the region, including BMW AG.

Thomas Probst of the BVSE Federal German Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Disposal complained that authorities responsible for recycling regulations and organization rightly consider packaging plastics as recyclable, but plastic parts from cars as not recyclable. He also described the European Union's proposed 2 percent limit on plastic waste export from the EU and 6 percent limit for within the EU as a "double-edged sword," as it results in particular plastics being taken out of the recycling stream.