New raw materials, circular design principles and innovative production technologies are rapidly changing the possibilities offered by plastics and rubber. At Kunststoffenbeurs 2026, MaterialDistrict will bring these developments together in Beyond Plastics: an independent exhibition featuring around one hundred material innovations from the Netherlands and abroad.
The exhibition will feature recycled and biobased plastics, innovative composites, foams, coatings, functional surfaces and other material developments. Visitors will be able not only to view the materials, but also to touch, compare and assess them for potential applications.
Products need to become lighter, last longer and be easier to recycle, while also meeting increasingly stringent requirements for performance, safety, regulation and design. This calls not only for new machinery and production processes, but above all for different materials and new material combinations.
With Beyond Plastics, MaterialDistrict is therefore looking beyond the end product. The exhibition focuses on the materials that enable new applications and shows how innovation can contribute to circularity, CO₂ reduction, reuse, functionality and design freedom.
“A great deal of innovation starts with the material,” says Jeroen van Oostveen, owner of MaterialDistrict. “With Beyond Plastics, we want to introduce visitors to developments that are already available, but are still far from widely known. Seeing and touching materials up close often sparks ideas for applications that would not readily occur to you on paper.”
The selected materials are relevant to the various markets represented at Kunststoffenbeurs, including high-tech, medical technology, consumer products, construction and infrastructure. In this way, Beyond Plastics complements the fair’s sector-focused format and its central emphasis on sustainable product development and future-proof manufacturing.
The exhibition complements the main show floor, where companies present their products, machinery and technologies. MaterialDistrict adds an independent materials perspective by asking: which new raw materials and material developments can help manufacturers and designers take the next step?
MaterialDistrict has been collecting and presenting innovative materials from around the world for more than twenty-five years. Through its independent collection, the platform connects material manufacturers with architects, designers, product developers and other professionals responsible for material selection.
For Beyond Plastics, MaterialDistrict is selecting around one hundred innovations that together provide an up-to-date picture of developments within the plastics and rubber industry: from fossil-based to biobased, from linear to circular, and from single-function materials to smart materials with multiple properties.
Beyond Plastics will be open to visitors on 16 and 17 September 2026 during Kunststoffenbeurs at the Brabanthallen in ’s-Hertogenbosch.