All eyes on Mexico in the lead-in to Plastimagen 2022

The pandemic caused a slump in sales in 2020-2021, but Italian manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment, and moulds - with some 170 united in the trade association Amaplast - continue to see Mexico as a primary destination.

In the first nine months of 2021, exports exceeded 60 million euros in value and this Latin American country has almost always figured in the top ten markets for Italian sales in this industry (peaking at third in 2016), with an average growth rate of 4% over the past decade.

According to estimates by the local association Anipac, the Mexican plastics industry accounts for 5% of Mexican GDP in manufacturing. There are some 3,600 converters employing a workforce of over 190,000 people.

The close commercial relations with the United States are another source of interest among Italian companies in a market that shows significant signs of growth, with demand increasingly oriented towards cutting-edge, and above all green, technologies.

Not unsurprisingly, one of the main themes of the Plastimagen 2022 specialized exhibition (Mexico City, 8-11 March) is the circular economy. There will be more than 20 Italian companies in the collective - coordinated by Amaplast and the largest European presence by area, with over 370 square metres - to showcase their technologically advanced solutions for producing products with less energy using bio-based and low-environmental-impact materials, and for recycling post consumers plastics into secondary raw materials.

The following Amaplast member companies will be taking part in the national pavilion: Bausano, BMB, Borghi, Colines, Frigosystem, Industrial Frigo, Itib Machinery International, Macchi, Olmas, OMG, Previero/Sorema, Sica, Tecnova, Tria and Union.

What’s more, the Mexican exhibition will also provide an occasion to present the first edition of GreenPlast to the local market. Organized by the Amaplast service agency Promaplast, the new exhibition-convention, taking place in Milan from May 3 to 6, 2022, is dedicated to materials, technologies, and conversion processes with a focus on sustainability, recovery, recycling, and energy efficiency.