PLAST 2023 offers opportunities for interaction with operators around the world

PLAST – International Exhibition for the Plastics and Rubber Industry runs from Tuesday to Friday, 5–8 September 2023 at the Fiera Milano fairgrounds in Rho-Pero. There are more than 800 direct exhibitors already registered for the event and some halls are running out of space, figures that support the repute of the fair as a venue for a rich selection of innovative products and services thanks to businesses and professionals from all over the world and most notably from Asia and the Far East.

The 2023 edition of PLAST thus proves to be a success from the onset, with the added features of the three satellite fairs, each dedicated to an area of excellence in the sector, i.e., RUBBER, 3D PLAST and PLAST-MAT, demonstrating the dynamism of a market that expresses extremely positive values.

The core of the exhibition is the section with machinery, auxiliary equipment, and plastics and rubber moulds, an important sector in Italian manufacturing with over 400 companies.

The trade Association Amaplast’s-MECS Statistical Studies Centre foresees a substantially positive balance for this sector again in 2022 – after the rebound recorded in 2021, a year ending with double-digit growth in all indicators – demonstrating the ability of the sector to absorb the impacts of the perturbations that have occurred and been compounded over the past three years. Overall production for 2022 is expected to reach the threshold of 4.5 billion euros, with growth of one percentage point over 2021: while not in itself eye-popping, it consolidates the recovery achieved during the previous year, even exceeding by two points the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

Growth, although tempered, is recorded in both components of demand: exports (which represent roughly 70% of production) show growth of approximately 2%, again exceeding 3 billion euros; the domestic market registers a +1%, partly influenced by a 5% increase in imports.

As regards exports by region, according to ISTAT data for the first nine months of 2022, flows have intensified to Asian markets, the Americas (South America in particular, Colombia out ahead), and Europe (especially extra-EU states, excluding the CIS for obvious reasons). On the other hand, flows to Africa have diminished, both to Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan markets.

Leading eastern markets is India with a robust +34% consolidating the progress recorded in recent years. The importance of the India market for Italian companies was clearly demonstrated by the high number of participants in the Italian pavilion at the recent PLASTINDIA in New Delhi from 1 to 5 February.

On the other hand, there has been a slight downturn in sales to the Chinese market (-5%), which is the third largest export market for Italian companies in the sector. The causes are to be attributed to persisting uncertainty associated with Covid policy, which has put the brakes on the Asian giant’s economy. This could affect participation at the specialized CHINAPLAS (Shenzhen, 17-20 April), which historically has witnessed the direct presence of at least fifty Italian exhibitors coordinated by the trade association Amaplast.

Other important Far Eastern markets such as Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan show double-digit growth in imports from Italy, with flows to Indonesia somewhat more intermittent 

The 2018 edition of PLAST, marking a temporary break from the regular 3-year cycle as a result of the pandemic, drew in over 1,500 exhibitors in a net area of 55,000 square meters, with over 63,000 visitors, a significant proportion from abroad, confirming the event’s drawing power and international appeal. PLAST is a broad technology showcase embracing materials and processes, finished products and services and the most advanced solutions developed by manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment, auxiliaries, and moulds, with over 3,500 units exhibited in the 6 pavilions occupied by the fair. For more information, visit: https://www.plastonline.org/en/