Plast 2018 is taking place at the Fiera Milano facilities in Rho-Pero (Milan) from Tuesday, May 29, to Friday, June 1, 2018. Organized by Promaplast, Plast is the preeminent European event this year for the plastics and rubber industry, embracing the entire production chain from raw materials to semi-finished and finished products, from machinery and equipment to support services. The international scope of this triennial tradeshow, now in its eighteenth edition, again enjoying the sponsorship of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, is confirmed by the impressive numbers of foreign exhibitors and visitors.

Some 1,500 exhibitors have registered for Plast 2018. Of these, 57% are Italian and 43% foreign, representing 55 countries, covering a total of 55,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Plast reflects the preeminent global position of the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment and moulds industry, which forms the core of the exhibition. Over 70% of national production - which set a new all-time record value of 4.67 billion euros in 2017 according to figures from the trade association Amaplast - is exported.

Plast 2018 thus offers economic operators a full-spectrum technological showcase addressing all the various production processes (from extrusion to blow-moulding, from thermoforming to injection moulding) and applications (packaging, automotive, medical, construction, etc.).

Given the excellent performance of Italian exports in the machinery industry and recovery in the domestic market, participants have every right to expect rewarding business opportunities at Plast 2018, with their order books swelling significantly directly at the fair.

Again this year, Plast is featuring satellite shows dedicated to three sub-sectors of excellence: Rubber (in its third edition), 3D Plast (focusing on additive manufacturing and related technologies, now in its second edition) and Plast-Mat (first edition, dedicated to innovative plastics).

A jam-packed schedule of technical seminars and company meetings has been arranged, providing a full-spectrum view of the latest in materials, processes, machinery and services. These conferences, combined with the breadth of the exhibits, draw in not only professionals working in the field but also young people seeking a place in the job market. As happens at every Plast, school groups, most of them from technical high schools, are among the crowds in the exhibition halls, getting a first-hand experience of the materials and technologies in the plastics and rubber industry.

But that’s not all. In keeping with tradition, the “Art & Plastics” area of Plast 2018 is featuring a splash of colour, with artists exhibiting works they have created using plastic, providing a further demonstration of the versatility of this material.

Thousands of operators have already registered online during the last weeks to visit Plast 2018. Large numbers have also preregistered to visit the four fairs within The Innovation Alliance (Ipack-Ima, Meat-Tech, Print4All, Intralogistica Italia), also expressing interest in visiting Plast 2018.

The large number of expected visitors (at least 150,000 in total for the five events) will be joined by official delegations from some forty countries and all corners of the world, coordinated by ICE-Agenzia and composed of carefully selected qualified operators with interests spanning all sectors represented within The Innovation Alliance.