K 2028 Advisory Board begins preparations for the world’s leading trade fair
Dr Axel von Wiedersperg elected as new chairman
The inaugural meeting of the Exhibitor Advisory Board has marked the start of preparations for K 2028. The world’s leading trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry will take place in Düsseldorf from 18 to 25 October 2028. The Advisory Board supports Messe Düsseldorf in the strategic and conceptual development of K and advises it on fundamental issues relating to the focus, programme structure and communication of the world’s leading trade fair.
At the start of the Advisory Board meeting, the board 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 two decades.
Dr Axel von Wiedersperg holds a doctorate in law and has been Managing Director of the Brückner Group since 2009. He possesses many years of sector and market expertise in the plastics and rubber industry, as well as an extensive international network within the industry. He has been a member of the K Exhibitor Advisory Board since 2023 and has therefore already been involved in the preparations for K 2025 and in the strategic development of the trade fair. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.
The meeting focused on a joint review of K 2025, the analysis of the exhibitor and visitor surveys, and an initial outlook on the direction of K 2028. Key themes for the upcoming event were discussed, and the next steps for the strategic development of the world’s leading trade fair were set in motion.
The K Exhibitor Advisory Board represents the entire spectrum of the trade fair’s offerings – from machinery and plant engineering through the production of plastics and rubber to their processing. It comprises representatives from the exhibiting industry as well as leading trade associations.
The K 2028 Düsseldorf Exhibitor Advisory Board comprises:
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
Association of Plastics and Rubber Machinery Manufacturers within the VDMA e.V.
Dr Oliver Möllenstädt
GKV General Association of the Plastics Processing Industry e.V.
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
Düsseldorf will once again become the global meeting place for the plastics and rubber industry at K 2028. Leading international suppliers from the mechanical engineering, raw materials and processing sectors, as well as companies specialising in plastics recycling, are once again expected to attend.
Exhibitor registration for K 2028 opens in January 2027. Further information on K 2028 is available at: www.k-online.com
About K in Düsseldorf:
K was first organised by Messe Düsseldorf in 1952 and takes place every three years. The last K, held in 2025, attracted 3,246 exhibitors from 65 countries across more than 176,000 m² of net exhibition space and around 169,000 trade visitors, 73 per cent of whom came from abroad.
