Press releases

At the end of SOLIDS & RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund 2024, the participants reflect with satisfaction on a successful event. Compared to the previous year, the number of exhibitors had grown by a good third to a total of 400 and 4,150 trade visitors found their way to the trade fair duo. ‘We have been an integral part of RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund for years and have witnessed the impressive development of the trade fair. It has grown in size and significance, making it an important platform for us.’ says Rainer Flaute, Head of Sales and Business Development at Westeria GmbH, summarising the successful course of the event. Tobias Meixner, Head of Sales & Marketing at Hosokawa Solids Solutions GmbH, agrees: ‘SOLIDS Dortmund has been a long-standing companion for us as an exhibitor. We have received numerous qualified enquiries from potential customers and have already planned to book again for 2026.’ With this year’s focus on digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and process automation, the organiser demonstrated an excellent sense of current trends. Accordingly, 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 with nine young companies was also well attended and dialogues often revolved around specific projects. ‘We are very satisfied with our participation as a start-up. At our stand, we had many valuable conversations, secured an initial business deal, and initiated further opportunities,’ confirms Florin Kolken, Managing Director of TEL GmbH.

Satisfied visitors praise the supporting programme

The lecture panels were equally impressive. Here, high-calibre speakers provided impetus for the future of the bulk solids and recycling industry. This was also confirmed by Andreas Kuß, Project Manager Plant Construction and Environmental Protection, EGN Entsorgungsgesellschaft Niederrhein mbH ‘My visit to the trade fair was very successful. A day full of excellent discussions and very informative expert presentations’. For example, AI expert Christiane Reichwein introduced the possibilities of artificial intelligence, and Jan Eilers, Senior Project Manager at Horváth & Partner GmbH, along with Principal Dr. Markus Stoffel, demonstrated how products and their entire lifecycle can be designed sustainably. Several live explosions on the trade fair forecourt with professional cyclist Robert Förstemann and REMBE® GmbH Safety+Control also enriched the supporting programme. Furthermore, several live explosions on the trade fair forecourt, featuring professional cyclist Robert Förstemann and REMBE® GmbH Safety+Control, further enriched the supporting programme.

Smiling 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 in the first idea competition for the process industry. David Bargiel, together with Lenka Mildner, Ponnappa Cheranda, and Anja Sommerfeld, guided the proceedings and moderated the presentations of the six teams on the Hackathon stage. Under the motto “Food goes Powder,” the challenge sponsor, Zeppelin Systems GmbH, sought an automated cleaning method for a mixing plant and received several solution proposals. “The Hackathon was a complete success for us. It was fascinating to see how the participants came up with innovative approaches we hadn’t even thought of. We were especially surprised by the winners’ creative idea of cleaning with dry ice,” said Helen Schneider, Project Engineer at the R&D Center of Zeppelin, expressing her satisfaction. Michael Weigelt, Managing Director of the challenge sponsor TecPart e.V., also shared his enthusiasm: “The Hackathon was an absolute success for us. We were able to gain much more from the event than we had anticipated.” The association is excited about ideas to attract “Young Professionals” to the plastics industry. The winning team walked away with a prize of €10,000, while second and third places received €3,000 and €1,000, respectively.

To be continued

The next SOLIDS & RECYCLING-TECHNIK Dortmund, featuring another “Bulk Masters” Hackathon, will take place on March 18 and 19, 2026.