voestalpine HPM at K 2025 – Insights from the World’s No. 1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber

At a glance

K 2025, the world’s No. 1 trade fair for plastics and rubber, brought together industry leaders from across the globe in Düsseldorf, Germany. For voestalpine HPM, it was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in mold-making and discuss industry trends—from sustainability and circular economy to global collaboration.

K 2025 in Düsseldorf – Bringing the plastics industry together

More than 175,000 visitors and around 3,275 exhibitors filled the halls, covering everything from raw materials and mold-making to injection and blow molding, extrusion, finished components, and recycling solutions. This year’s motto—The Power of Plastics: Green, Smart, Responsible—set the tone. Circular economy and social responsibility were the key topics, and it was great to see how seriously the industry is embracing its future.

Our presence at K 2025

For us at voestalpine HPM, K 2025 was the ideal stage to show how we contribute to shaping this industry transformation. The team included some of our leading international specialists in plastic processing. It was a real pleasure to meet them again, share knowledge and experience, and of course, welcome the many curious visitors to our exhibition stand.

Key insights from the exhibition booth

During the seven days at K 2025, I had many valuable conversations with visitors to our exhibition booth—often together with my colleagues. Quite a few were long-standing customers, some of whom I regularly visit at their production sites across Europe. They wanted to know more about the voestalpine Coffee Cup Mold Demonstrator that was exhibited. You can view the video below.

This tool showcases our complete capabilities in mold design and manufacturing: from the initial concept through detailed engineering, additive manufacturing with conformal cooling, heat treatment, and surface technologies such as coating, polishing, and texturing. Our full value chain opens significant opportunities for customers looking to optimize performance and efficiency.

One of our major customers in Germany immediately recognized the potential of the Coffee Cup Mold Demonstrator for their global operations. We are now working closely with them to ensure their local sites can fully benefit from our complete range of performance capabilities.

The voestalpine coffee cup mold video

Industry trends we observed

Themes around Smart Plastics were visible throughout the exhibition halls. Sustainability remained a key focus—reducing resource consumption, increasing recycling (see our article on recycled plastics), and cutting CO₂ emissions. Many visitors were interested in how we support these goals by lowering our own emissions—particularly Scope 3—to create benefits for our customers. Find out how we make performance sustainable on our inSPire platform.

Reducing part weight is another growing priority. Foaming in injection molding helps make components lighter and reduces material usage. We also see more complex part geometries becoming standard, while cycle time reduction continues to be a major trend.

Finally, the internationalization of mold making is gaining momentum. Cross-border collaboration is thriving—even for identical molds. Globally active customers expect the same level of performance in steel and processing technologies, no matter where their production sites are located. Our organizational structure allows us to deliver consistent service—locally, regionally, and globally—meeting those expectations wherever our customers operate.

What made the biggest impact

Our biggest achievement at K 2025 was showing visitors how our production and service units work together—combining materials expertise with cutting-edge technology. This reminded us of the importance of our holistic approach: supporting customers through complete value chain solutions to help them achieve innovative product design and cost-efficient production.

Visitors were also impressed by the commitment and knowledge of our experts at the exhibition booth. I would like to thank Jana Vittinghoff and the German Marketing Team for their efforts in planning the exhibition stand, and a special thank you to our experts Ronald Münzer and Caroline Freitag.

Looking ahead

With K 2025 now behind us, we are busy following up on many leads. I’m back on the road—visiting customers, supporting them with technical challenges, and working together to implement holistic mold processes.

And of course, the next major plastics trade fair is just around the corner: Plastindia 2026, taking place in February in New Delhi, India. I look forward to meeting many of our international colleagues there again.

K 2025 showed us just how dynamic the plastics industry has become. For voestalpine HPM, it was a chance to share ideas, strengthen partnerships, and look ahead. We’re excited to continue these conversations—and to see many of you again at Plastindia 2026 in New Delhi.

Featured image top (from left to right): Christian Klee, Udo Danner, Johan Fransen, Johannes Bruckwilder, Jochen Liebe, Stefano Zandali, Ronald Münzer, Caterina Capitanio, Werner Halupka, Caroline Freitag, Jürgen Donhauser, Ivgen Simsek, Nils Wulbieter, Riccardo Zanchetta