According to estimates, worldwide production of plastics and rubber machinery rose by 1.3 per cent to 36.8 billion euros in 2018. European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing accounted for the lion's share of 42.3%.

For European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers the year 2018 was also a growth year, recording a plus of 1.9 per cent. However, last year already showed signs of an economic slowdown. "After 10 years of continuous growth and an increase in the Euromap production of 59% since 2010, 2019 will see the expected economic dip", says Luciano Anceschi, President of the European umbrella organization of major national plastics and rubber machinery associations (Euromap).

"Apart from a worldwide economic slowdown, it's above all the slump in the automobile sector as well as decreasing investments due to political uncertainties caused by the trade conflict between USA and China, the Brexit and unpredictable national laws for the use of plastics that are clouding over business prospects", Anceschi adds. However, manufacturing activities in China, as second largest customer country, have been shrinking for a while now, and this is not directly related to the trade war. For all these reasons, Euromap expects a turnover decline of 10% for European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers in the current year.

But circular economy has the potential to adopt the role of game changer. "The European

Commission demands the use of 10 million tonnes of recycled materials in Europe by 2025", explains the Euromap Vice President Michael Baumeister. "At present, we are standing at 2.5 million tonnes", says Baumeister. In addition, the European Commission requires that by 2030 all plastics packaging must be recyclable.