Recognition for outstanding specialist journalism and effective knowledge transfer in the plastics industry
The Editor-in-Chief of the trade magazine K-PROFI has been honoured for his longstanding commitment to fostering dialogue between research and industrial practice — a dialogue that enables applied research and practically viable innovation in the first place. With this decision, the jury also highlights the vital role of independent specialist media in disseminating and contextualising technological developments, particularly at a time of economic and structural challenges.
© DF.FotografieThe Georg Menges Award 2026 has been presented to Markus Lüling, Editor-in-Chief of the trade magazine K-PROFI. The jury recognises his many years of influential work in promoting well-founded, independent and transfer-oriented specialist journalism within the plastics industry.
The award was presented on 4 March 2026 during the 33rd International Colloquium Plastics Technology hosted by the Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) in Industry and Craft at RWTH Aachen University, held at the Eurogress in Aachen. The prize honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to transferring scientific knowledge into industrial practice.
The award is named after one of the key pioneers of plastics engineering in Germany, Prof. Dr. Georg Menges, who held the Chair of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University from 1965 to 1989 and served as Director of IKV. With remarkable commitment, courage and pragmatism, he advanced the implementation of innovative ideas and technologies from research into industrial application.
Engineer, editor, commentator
Markus Lüling holds a degree in engineering and has for many years been a defining voice in German-language plastics journalism. As Editor-in-Chief of K-PROFI, he not only shapes the editorial direction of one of the leading trade publications for plastics and rubber processors, but also actively contributes to the wider industry discourse.
Under his leadership, K-PROFI has positioned itself as a practice-oriented yet technically rigorous publication with a strong strategic perspective. Lüling combines engineering expertise with journalistic precision. His articles are characterised by technical depth, clear analysis and an ability to place complex developments within their broader economic and technological context.
In addition to the traditional print publication, he has expanded digital formats and dialogue-oriented platforms in order to create effective channels for knowledge transfer and industry networking. For many years, he has also been responsible for the daily trade fair newspaper K-AKTUELL, published during the world’s leading plastics and rubber trade fair, the K in Düsseldorf, which takes place every three years.
Amid the international dynamics of the fair, Lüling and his team coordinate real-time editorial coverage: developments are identified, discussions distilled, trends assessed and reports published the very same day. Delivering journalism of this calibre under considerable time pressure requires technical authority, strategic oversight and editorial precision — while providing orientation within a global showcase of innovation. In doing so, Lüling helps ensure that specialist information remains contemporary, accessible and relevant, both in the ongoing industry dialogue and within the fast-moving environment of major international events.
The trade press as an essential part of the innovation system
By selecting Markus Lüling, the jury makes a deliberate statement: innovation does not emerge solely in laboratories or production halls. Its impact unfolds only when knowledge is shared, debated, evaluated and communicated more broadly.
At a time when the plastics industry — like large parts of German industry — faces profound economic and structural challenges, specialist media are themselves under increasing pressure. Declining advertising revenues, falling subscription numbers and consolidation within the publishing sector make independent, technically sound reporting ever more difficult.
This makes the role of journalists who provide orientation through professional expertise and editorial integrity all the more significant. Markus Lüling exemplifies a generation of specialist journalists who do not merely document developments but critically accompany them, interpret them and place them within a wider context.
» Markus Lüling acts like a transmission belt within the plastics innovation system.«
In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann described Lüling as a “transmission belt within the plastics innovation system”. He takes up impulses from research and industry, evaluates them and transfers their momentum into the broader sector dialogue. As a result, developments become visible, debated and assessed in terms of their wider implications.
The award underlines the conviction that a strong, independent specialist press is an indispensable component of the innovation ecosystem. Without qualified mediation and critical contextualisation, technological progress lacks a vital sounding board. The Georg Menges Award 2026 therefore honours not only an outstanding journalistic personality but also highlights the central importance of professional specialist communication for the future viability of the plastics industry.