Fakuma 2020: Implementing the digital transformation

From Oct. 13-17, 2020, trade visitors will get an overview of all modern plastics technologies when some 2,000 exhibitors present themselves in Friedrichshafen at the 27th Fakuma – International Trade Fair for Plastics Processing. From injection molding, where Fakuma holds a leading position worldwide, to extrusion technology, thermoforming and 3D printing, trade visitors will receive the latest information on processes, technologies and tools related to plastics processing.

As the industry and technology barometer for injection molding, Fakuma is the first port of call when it comes to innovations in materials, machines, peripherals, processes and simulation. Visitors will get a comprehensive overview of all plastics technologies: injection molding, extrusion technology, thermoforming and 3D printing. As a working trade show for seasoned practitioners, Fakuma is consistently oriented to the plastics processing process chain. Here, exhibitors and trade visitors can discuss concrete projects directly with each other at eye level.

Fakuma occupies all available hall space in the modern exhibition center on Lake Constance. In 2018, 1,933 exhibitors from 40 nations and nearly 48,000 trade visitors from 126 countries came to Lake Constance. The world’s leading trade event for injection molding will become even more international in 2020, trade fair promoter P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG has announced. All the leading companies in industrial plastics processing will meet here for a professional exchange.

Digitization, networking, advanced process integration and system solutions for equipment and peripherals have also arrived in plastics processing machinery; much of what was previously still a plan, vision and theory with regard to digital transformation will increasingly become fact and can be experienced in implementation at Fakuma 2020.

The Fakuma waste disposal concept is also permanently moving in the direction of the future. “We are continuously developing our disposal concept to achieve the highest possible recycling rate,” says Gebhard Witt, Head of Logistics & Service at Messe Friedrichshafen. The focus at Fakuma is primarily on the recycling of the granulates and injection molded parts produced. “At the last Fakuma, we were able to achieve a recycling rate of over 90 percent here,” says Witt. Since the best possible pre-fractionation is carried out when collecting trade fair waste on site, the requirements of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act can be met without any problems. Messe Friedrichshafen is also continuously examining sustainability potential, for example by monitoring and controlling water and energy consumption.

Fakuma naturally also deals with environmental protection, sustainability, resource efficiency and the circular economy. The climate problem, delicate plastic waste situations and the negative image of plastic promote the need to realize economical and gentle production processes and to widely implement an effective circular economy. Only by increasing recycling rates and improving the efficiency of waste management can the plastic waste problem be mastered globally. Factual clarification and a differentiated discussion with all participants in the value chain are required here. Fakuma 2020, which provides information on technology trends for environmentally compatible production, the use of recyclates and more efficient injection molding processes, is a highly interesting and indispensable platform for this.