ASEAN’s premier exhibition to elevate manufacturing to higher level

Manufacturing Expo 2026 remains Southeast Asia’s leading industrial event. Held annually in Bangkok, the exhibition is ASEAN’s Most Comprehensive Event for Manufacturing and Supporting Industries as it encompasses manufacturing technologies for plastics, mould, automotive parts, robots and automation systems, electronics, surface and coatings, and factory and commercial building design and management. Over 2,000 exhibitors from 30 countries and over 90,000 participants from across ASEAN are expected to gather in one venue as they strive to elevate every manufacturing line to the next level of success.

The needs to uplift productivity, reduce costs, and increase profit of every production line are the focus of Manufacturing Expo which consists of 7 specialised events. For plastics manufacturers aiming to improve margins while advancing sustainability, InterPlas Thailand 2026 – the 33rd Edition of ASEAN’s Most ASEAN’s Most Comprehensive Exhibition on Machinery, Technology, Chemicals, and Raw Materials for Plastics Manufacturing aims to deliver innovative technologies, solutions, chemical, raw materials, and medical consumable products from over 300 brands that generate measurable ROI to enable greener production decisions and strengthen competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market. The exhibition focuses on green plastics manufacturing with innovations that deliver true sustainability. 

Thailand plastics market sustains growth

There is no doubt that Thailand has become one of the region’s thriving markets for plastics. Thailand plastics market size in 2026 is estimated at 6.43 million tonnes, growing from 2025 value of 6.23 million tonnes with 2031 projections showing 7.56 million tonnes, growing at 3.27% CAGR over 2026-2031, according to Mordor Intelligence report. This moderate headline growth conceals a decisive shift towardss low-carbon feedstocks, circular economy practices, and specialty applications that lift margins even as commodity spreads tighten. Traditional resins dominate volumes, yet a rapid pivot to biopolymers is underway because joint ventures are unlocking bio-ethylene and PLA capacity at scale. Demand momentum remains strongest in food, beverage, and e-commerce packaging, but the emergence of an electric-vehicle supply chain and large-scale infrastructure projects creates fresh pull for engineering resins and high-performance compounds. Intensifying Chinese oversupply, volatile naphtha costs, and stricter waste regulations pressure margins; firms that diversify feedstocks and invest in recycling infrastructure are best placed to protect returns in the Thailand plastics market.

Domestic beverage consumption continues to expand, locking in steady packaging tonnage. New food-contact standards effective March 2025 encourage converters to adopt recyclable and heat-resistant formulations that command premium pricing. Beverage exports to neighbouring Cambodia and Vietnam add incremental volumes, and food-delivery growth has more than doubled since the pandemic, generating multiple plastic items per order. Rising temperatures, rapid urbanisation, and a tourism rebound sustain packaging intensity in the Thailand plastics market. Demand for rigid containers grows in parallel with the personal-care segment, where mid-single-digit sales growth of cosmetics and health products boosts specialised packaging uptake.

The Mordor Intelligence report also cited government spending across over 150 infrastructure projects spurring long-run demand for PVC pipes, insulation, and roofing sheets. The Plastic Roads initiative, which incorporates up to five tons of recycled material per kilometer, signals a policy pivot towards circular construction practices that enlarge the addressable market for recycled resin. More than 800 mid- and large-size manufacturers now integrate digital ordering tools and low-carbon processes to satisfy green-building specifications. An expected 1 million new jobs linked to megaprojects will spur residential and commercial builds, reinforcing demand for plastic building products even as energy inflation and cheap Chinese imports squeeze margins.

In the automotive sector, Thailand’s 30@30 policy targets 30% electric-vehicle production by 2030. EV sales climbed from 84,500 units in 2022 to 206,000 units in 2024, creating outsized demand for lightweight battery casings, interior trims, and structural composites. Projects such as BYD’s US$900 million Rayong plant and BMW’s forthcoming local assembly lines will rely on engineering resins that provide heat resistance and electrical insulation. Localisation mandates that set domestic-content thresholds through 2035 further anchor those supply chains inside the Thailand plastics market. As automakers press suppliers to cut vehicle mass and extend range, polypropylene and advanced polyamides gain share in dashboards, under-hood applications, and EV charging components.

Thailand has also become a hub for bioplastics with major players actively raising production of this material type. The US$1.54 billion Braskem-SCGC bio-ethylene venture is designed to deliver 200,000 tonnes a year of renewable polyethylene derived from sugarcane ethanol, cutting cradle-to-gate emissions by as much as 70% versus fossil resin. NatureWorks is also moving to add 75,000 tonnes of PLA at its Nakhon Sawan complex, backed by US$350 million in domestic financing. These projects position Thailand as a regional leader in sustainable resins, expand feedstock optionality for converters, and open export windows into premium consumer-goods markets that mandate lower-carbon packaging. The initiatives align with the national Bio-Circular-Green economic model, deepen farmer participation in the plastics value chain, and support the upward revision of renewable-material targets within the Thailand plastics market.