Brisk sales reported despite recession

M-PLAS 2009, the 4th International Plastics and Rubber Trade Fair for Malaysia, concluded on 7 November on an upbeat note. The trade fair attracted some 200 exhibiting companies from 20 countries including country groups and pavilions from Austria, India, Italy, Malaysia and Singapore. Having gained a reputation as a leading international trade fair for the Malaysian plastics and rubber industries since its inception in 2000, M-PLAS has strengthened its unique advantages by providing a definitive platform for processors from across Malaysia to discover the best in technology, innovations, state-of-the-art machinery and processing solutions for plastics and rubber. The four-day trade fair attracted 4,610 trade visitors and buyers from 49 countries ?88% of these visitors came from Malaysia. Brisk sales were reported from exhibiting companies such as Borghi S.p.A., Enge Plas Automation Sdn Bhd, LS Mtron Ltd, Machines Boucherie India Pvt Ltd and WY Machinery Trading (KL) Sdn Bhd. M-PLAS 2009 was officially opened by Yang Berhormat Dato?Jacob Dungau Sagan, Malaysia抯 Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry who commented, "The plastics industry is constantly undergoing transformation and innovation in the manufacturing and market processes, products as well as customer services." He added, "The plastics manufacturers must therefore keep abreast with the latest developments and innovations; adapt to changes and initiate and spearhead the innovation and creativity through collaborative efforts." In the same speech, the Deputy Minister reported that the plastics industry registered a 5.2% growth in sales in 2008 and exports grew by 4.6% in the same year. In the areas of rubber, the rubber products industry contributed RM 10.5 billion to the Malaysia抯 export earnings in 2008 - 4% up from 2007. Show organiser, Messe D黶seldorf Asia抯 Managing Director, Gernot Ringling observed, "As most economies and manufacturing sectors are preparing for the economic upturn, vendors of highend processing machinery and materials will again see an increase demand for their products. This underlies the importance of a prominent presence at and visit to M-PLAS 2009." Ringling also pointed out that ASEAN is a noteworthy market of over 570 million consumers with a combined GDP of over US$ 1 trillion. He commented, "The outlook for the plastic and rubber industries in this region looks extremely promising as it offers a tremendous scope for businesses from this region to diversify into new growth areas. " Expanding scope and value Exhibitors are happy with the visitors turnout during the show. "As the market leaders in producing brush making machines, we felt that M-PLAS 2009 was a good opportunity to show and demonstrate the advantage of Boucherie Machines to existing brush makers. This has generated a lot of interest in our machines which will be useful for future business. The exhibition is also good for all technical personal and for people involved in the production side to see and understand our technology," according to S. M. Murali, Manager, Marketing South and Southeast Asia, Machines Boucherie India Pvt Ltd. Luca Guizzardi, Area Sales Manager, Borghi S.p.A. said that the company抯 participatiAir Jordan IX Low