Following the conclusion of SOLIDS & RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund 2024, participants can look back with satisfaction on a successful event. Compared with the previous year, the number of exhibitors had grown by a good third to a total of 400, and 4,150 trade visitors attended the twin trade fairs. “We have been an integral part of RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund for years and have witnessed the trade fair’s impressive development. It has grown in size and significance and has therefore become an important platform for us,” says Rainer Flaute, Head of Sales and Business Development at Westeria GmbH, summing up the event’s success. Tobias Meixner, Head of Sales & Marketing at Hosokawa Solids Solutions GmbH, agrees “SOLIDS Dortmund has been a long-standing partner for us as exhibitors. We have received numerous qualified enquiries from potential customers and have already planned to book our stand again for 2026.” With this year’s key themes digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and process automation the organiser demonstrated an excellent understanding of current trends. Consequently, many renowned companies were among the visitors, such as Evonik AG, Bayer AG, Remondis Recycling GmbH & Co. KG, Alba Group and August Storck KG. The Start-up Area, featuring nine young companies, was also well attended, and discussions often centred on specific projects. “We are very pleased with our participation as a start-up. At our stand, we were able to hold many valuable discussions, secure our first business deal and initiate further ones,” confirmed Florin Kolken, Managing Director of TEL GmbH.

Satisfied visitors praise the supporting programme

The panel discussions were equally impressive. Here, high-calibre speakers provided insights into the future of the bulk materials and recycling industries. This is also confirmed by Andreas Kuß, Project Manager for Plant Engineering and Environmental Protection at EGN Entsorgungsgesellschaft Niederrhein mbH: “My visit to the trade fair was very successful. A day full of excellent discussions and highly informative expert presentations.” For example, AI expert Christiane Reichwein introduced the possibilities of artificial intelligence, whilst Jan Eilers, Senior Project Manager at Horváth & Partner GmbH, together with Principal Dr Markus Stoffel, demonstrated how products and their entire life cycle can be designed sustainably. Several live stunts on the exhibition forecourt featuring professional cyclist Robert Förstemann and REMBE® GmbH Safety+Control further enriched the supporting programme.

Beaming winners at the first ‘BULK MASTERS’ hackathon

The new side event, the “BULK MASTERS” hackathon, was particularly impressive. A total of 18 participants took on the challenges at the first ideas competition for the process industry. David Bargiel, together with Lenka Mildner, Ponnappa Cheranda and Anja Sommerfeld, guided the proceedings and moderated the presentations by the six teams on the hackathon stage. Under the motto “Food goes Powder”, the challenge organiser, Zeppelin Systems GmbH, was looking for an automated cleaning method for a mixing plant and received several proposed solutions. “The hackathon was a resounding success for us. It was fascinating to see how the participants pursued innovative approaches that we hadn’t even thought of ourselves. The winners in particular surprised us with their creative idea for cleaning using dry ice,” says Helen Schneider, Project Engineer at the R&D Centre at Zeppelin, expressing her satisfaction. Michael Weigelt, Managing Director of challenge organiser TecPart e.V., is equally impressed “The hackathon was an absolute success for us. We were able to take away much more from the event than we had expected.” The association is delighted with ideas on how to inspire “young professionals” to join the plastics industry. The beaming winning team received 10,000 euros in prize money, whilst second and third place were awarded 3,000 and 1,000 euros respectively.

To be continued

The next SOLIDS & RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund, featuring another ‘BULK MASTERS’ hackathon, will take place on 18 and 19 March 2026.