— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

Thirteen years ago, in the late summer of 2012, Plasteurope.com’s sister publication K-Profi saw the light of day. Now the 100th issue of the publication, which aims to provide “impulses for plastics processors”, has been published. We used the anniversary to catch up with the founder and Editor-in-Chief of K-Profi, Markus Lüling, and take a look back at the magazine’s history to date.

PIE: What are the top 3 ideas that K-Profi has given its readers over the past 13 years?
Markus Lüling: We have portrayed exceptionally positioned plastics processors, shown new production technologies or excitingly structured companies, and conveyed original material applications. These were impulses for processors to consider, to draw analogies from, and talk to colleagues about. What were the most valuable impulses? That is for the reader alone to judge.

Has K-Profi ever missed a good story?
Lüling: At least not knowingly. But we did have some good stories already finalised and ready for print – and then the in-house lawyers put a stop to them after all. This always annoys us, but we can’t rule it out in the future. Unfortunately.

Is there a celebrity from the plastics industry that K-Profi has always wanted to interview but never got in front of a microphone?
Lüling: The same applies here as everywhere else in journalism: keep your eyes open when selecting interview partners. There is a whole range of figures in our industry notorious for being hopelessly secretive. We don’t send them requests. Which means they can’t snub us. Everyone else has answered our questions – and gladly.

The editorial of the first issue of K-Profi states that the magazine aims to report the best stories from the plastics processing industry. Which was the very best story?
Lüling: Every editor, but above all every reader, will have a particular story in mind as the very best. I myself have special memories of unusual applications with surprising process engineering – optical lenses at Orafol in Apolda, thermoplastic bicycle frames at V-Frames in Saalfeld, digital compound development at Polymaterials in Kaufbeuren or, most recently, chocolate moulds at Agathon in Essen.

There has also been an English edition of K-Profi since 2020. What is its content focus?
Lüling: In K-Profi international, we mainly feature articles on technology trends, internationally active plastics processors, and suppliers of well-known OEMs. The subscription to our international edition is free, and we encourage readers to sign up.

What will be the cover story of the 200th issue of K-Profi?
Lüling: If things continue as they are, K-Profi issue No. 200 will be published in September before K 2037. This makes a technology-oriented cover story very likely.

Markus Lüling studied plastics technology at RWTH Aachen University and graduated with a degree in engineering. Since 1992, he has worked in various roles in communications and specialised media, initially on packaging technology topics and in plastics technology for 30 years at this point.

— Translated by Elspeth Lenhard