The triennial K opens its doors today, Wednesday October 16 2013, and proves itself as the leading trade show in the world. More than 3,000 exhibitors from 56 countries occupied the whole fairground and wait for some 200,000 visitors from all over the world, at least according to the statistics of the latest 2010 edition. At the end of this first morning, the visitors’ amount was quite good but it is too early to say whether expectations were fulfilled. The Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Association (Assocomaplast) is present with a 70 sqm-booth (Hall 16 A56), which also includes a gallery recalling the successful history of plastics and rubber during the last decades with design objects and fashion items that deeply influenced our lifestyle. 232 Italian machinery and ancillaries manufacturers are displaying their innovations in Düsseldorf, ranking second, in numerical terms, only to the German hosts.