HKI Spring Meeting 2026: Industry exchange on the market, regulation and future perspectives
On 13 and 14 April 2026, members of the HKI Trade Association and the Trade Association for Commercial Kitchens met in Frankfurt am Main for this year’s spring meeting. The event focused on current developments in the market, politics and standardisation, as well as the future direction of the industry. Our General Manager, Dennis Droll, also represented our company at the spring meeting and was involved in discussions on key industry issues.
The presented market data highlighted the current challenging situation in the industry. Whilst international markets are showing signs of recovery, demand in Germany remains restrained. Following the exceptional growth in sales seen during the recent years of crisis, the domestic market is growing at a slower pace than many other European markets. France, in particular, is currently experiencing positive growth.
A significant amount of time was devoted to the new EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR), which will come into force in August 2026 and will impose new requirements on businesses throughout the entire value chain. In addition, the expert committees provided information on current regulatory and technical issues. These included, amongst other things, the ongoing revision of the Ecodesign requirements, the planned amendment to the Federal Immission Control Ordinance (BImSchV) and the publication of the EN 16510 series of standards in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Other key topics included market surveillance issues, the EPREL database and the introduction of the Digital Product Passport. Discussions also focused on ways to raise the profile of fireplaces in the new-build sector and highlight their potential.
The changing landscape of the trade fair industry was also discussed at length. The growing number of new event formats and a packed calendar in the coming years are leading to increased planning demands for many companies and placing additional strain on available resources.
The climate dialogue film, which has now been completed, has received a positive response; it presents modern wood-burning systems in a factual and contemporary manner. Through this project, the industry aims to raise its profile, provide information on modern combustion technology and enhance public understanding. At the same time, the association will focus its communications work even more strongly in future on the issues of security of supply, resilience and crisis preparation.