Registration opened on November 12 for the upcoming edition of Plast, the triennial international exhibition for the plastics and r Rubber Industries, which will take place from Tuesday, 4 May to Friday, 7 May 2021 at the FieraMilano Fairgrounds in Rho (Milan).

As always, Plast is the place to be for operators in the plastics and rubber sector; they will be able to get a first-hand look at innovative materials, latest generation technologies, and flexible solutions for energy-efficient, sustainable production and recycling within a circular economy perspective.

In an increasingly globalized and fast-developing market, the processing industry has a constant need for cutting-edge processes, interconnected machinery meeting the highest safety standards, and high-performance recyclable raw materials to produce articles for a broad array of essential applications: from packaging to automotive, from construction to electricity and electronics, from medical to agriculture.

The upcoming edition of Plast will once again feature the three satellite fairs, each dedicated to a sub-sector of excellence and its associated start-ups: Rubber (in its fourth edition, dedicated to the world of elastomers, in collaboration with Assogomma), 3D Plast (in its third edition, focusing on additive manufacturing and related technologies), and Plast-MAT (second edition, exploring innovative plastics).

The Plast administrative office has set the organizational machinery in motion, sending prospective exhibitors the credentials they need for the exclusively online registration process.

The first exhibitors registered during the recent K 2019 in Düsseldorf and many others showed interest, taking advantage of the early registration deadline of February 10, 2020, which entitles them to a 20% discount on the participation fee as well as priority stand assignments.

Outreach to potential exhibitors and visitors to Plast 2021 began immediately after the announcement of the dates for the upcoming trade fair. The campaign has included participation in key events in recent months, and this will naturally intensify as we approach May 2021.

Planning of promotional activities and side events is already underway, including buyer missions and the schedule of conventions, which will feature speakers and guests of international stature.

In addition to these general support activities, exhibitors will also be offered a series of services and new benefits, including:

- presence in the FieraMilano Expopage and Smart Catalog portals;

- two invitation codes per square metre of stand to allow the exhibitor’s guests to access the fair directly;

- free Wi-Fi connection in the fairgrounds;

- a free parking space for each exhibitor;

- carpeted exhibition aisles, very much appreciated by participants in the last Plast.

Below we provide some key figures for the past edition of Plast, which took place from  May 29 to  June 1, 2018 in Milan:

- total fair area: 55,000 sqm net;

- exhibition sectors represented: 75% machinery, 20% materials and products, 5% services;

- total exhibitors: 1,510 from 55 countries (57% Italian, 43% foreign; 1,049 direct and 461 via representatives);

- satellite fairs: Rubber (rubber industry), 3D Plast (3D printing and related technologies), Plast-MAT (innovative materials);

- visitors: 63,000 (27.5% from outside of Italy) representing 117 countries.

Plast 2021 again joins with The Innovation Alliance. After the great success in 2018, the five international tradeshows (Ipack-Ima, Meat-Tech, Plast, Print4ALL, and Intralogistica Italia) will offer to professionals from all industrial sectors a showcase of technological excellence from different manufacturing worlds in Italy and abroad, brought together as way to put a strong focus on the entire supply chain. An offer that will show the best solutions for the manufacturing industry, different applications ranging from the engineering of rubber and plastic to their recovery and recycling, also in view of always more sustainable and circular industrial processes, to food processing technologies, from food and non-food packaging to custom graphic printing and labelling, right down to the material handling and the warehousing.

Plast will be Europe’s premier event for the sector in 2021 and will contribute, together with the concomitant fairs, to creating the continent’s most important event for machinery and technology for the manufacturing industry.