Premiere in March 1986: 15 technicians from German paint factories are the first participants to attend a BYK customer seminar. They visit the laboratories in Wesel and receive first-hand information about new paint additives. No comparable events have been held in the chemical industry until now. BYK's approach proved successful: The participants of the first customer seminar are enthusiastic.

In 1986, five more customer seminars are held with guided tours, lectures and expert discussions. The BYK branches are picking up on the idea and inviting customers to lecture events on site. From the end of the 1980s, BYK itself is expanding its repertoire and, from the end of the 1980s, offering English-language events, seminars for specialists from Japan and South Korea, as well as for experts from the plastics industry. By 1993, 16 events with almost 400 participants are taking place in Wesel.

In the course of the 1980s, BYK participates in more and more trade fairs. However, the first trade fair appearances are modest: BYK employees load their cars with folding walls and set them up on site themselves. In the beginning, technical information did not play the main role in the trade fair presentations either, as one employee recalls: "It was important to us that people stayed with us for as long as possible and did not move on to other stands. That's why there was always plenty to eat and drink with BYK."