PIE’s parent publication KI Group (Bad Homburg / Germany; www.ki.de) recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Alexander Hetjes, mayor of Bad Homburg visited the publishing house and talked to the team about the issues currently affecting the world of plastics, and its strategy going forward.

“I am very pleased indeed to have the KI Group based here in our town. It is a traditional publishing house characterised by quality journalism,” Hetjes said in conversation with the managing director of the group, Andreas Hertsch, founder Helmut Hertsch and co-shareholder, PIE Editor-in-Chief Ulrike Mau. Hetjes took a look behind the scenes at the information service provider, and added, “KI Group proves how successful media can be when they have the right concept and a clear focus on their target groups.”

Useful information, prepared by experts, is essential for the success of any company, says Andreas Hertsch, who has led KI Group as managing director since 1992: “It is precisely this decision-making knowledge that we have been supplying to the German and European plastics industry for 50 years now.” Helmut Hertsch added, “Information was, is and will remain the new gold. That applies today more than ever.” According to Ulrike Mau, it was the increasing globalisation of the chemicals and plastics industry that made the publisher’s decision to expand its information services portfolio to include European customers so successful.

The consistent focus on high-quality journalism and the readers’ assistance in decision-making has paid off over the years. KI Group now consists of three companies with complementary services: online portals in English and German, printed newsletters, a trade journal, job market news, trade fair newspapers, seminars and webinars – focused solely on the plastics industry. It currently employs around 30 people, besides a wide network of freelancers in Europe, the US and China, and expects a turnover of EUR 5m in 2021.