More Americans are discovering the 'K.'.

The triennial Kunststoffe fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, known as "K," is the biggest plastics fair in the world. October's K'98 show presented 2655 exhibits and attracted 265,000 visitors from 103 countries. The 9200 U.S. visitors were a drop in the bucket, but the number was up 18% from the K'95 total, whereas the fair's total attendance grew only 1.5%.

In the past, a few sophisticated U.S. processors came to "K" in order to get a jump on their competition by scouting out the latest technology from Europe and Japan. Maybe that attitude is spreading. I did get the feeling that "K" exhibitors were more on the lookout for American buyers than in the past. It seemed like more of them had their U.S. reps on hand at their booths than ever before.

Should you think of going to the next "K" in 20017 Despite its massive size (15 halls now and another one on the way), "K" is somewhat more manageable than other big shows because exhibits in related fields tend to be grouped together. "K" is also more exciting than the average show because exhibitors seem less intent on just displaying products than on making a statement about their technological leadership. Because of its very size, "K" is uniquely comprehensive. For example, K'98 had a dozen makers of EPS bead equipment; our own NPE '97 had none. And in stark contrast to the shrinking participation of materials suppliers in NPE, almost no resin maker that values its reputation would pass up the "K."