The plastics and rubber industry has an appointment at Fiera Milano Rho from 5 to 8 September: Plast, the international exhibition dedicated to the technologies, materials, and solutions for the sector. With over 800 exhibitors already signed up, expectations are high for one of the industry’s key tradeshows. Dozens of exhibitors participating for the first time or returning after missing a few editions are clear evidence of the attractiveness of the event and the success of organizers in keeping attention focused on it. Additional important signs are the confirmed return of the Chinese and Iranian pavilions and the debut of the French collective.

Registrations are still open and the objective is to bring even more international exhibitors and visitors to Plast. Partly for this reason, the organizer, Promaplast, has signed a synergetic agreement with Ipack-Ima to promote Plast among packaging operators. This is a sector that is tightly related to the plastics industry, representing nearly 40 % of demand for polymers. There is also a focus on foreign delegations: 30 countries have been engaged in the incoming buyers programme, instituted with the support of ICE-Agenzia.

The exhibition layout at Plast 2023 comprises six halls: halls 9 and 11 will be occupied by raw materials suppliers; 13 and 15 will be dedicated to extrusion; and 22 and 24 will focus on injection moulding, blow-moulding, and auxiliaries. The 2023 edition will again feature the three satellite fairs dedicated to three sub-sectors of excellence: Rubber (dedicated to the world of rubber); 3D Plast (focused on additive manufacturing and related technologies); and Plast-Mat (for innovative plastics). Furthermore, thanks to the collaboration with ICE-Agenzia, the StartUp area will be implemented again this year to provide merited visibility to innovative solutions by emerging operators.

The Innovation Alliance - the project implemented in partnership by Plast together with Ipack-Ima, Print4All, Intralogistica Italia - will be featured with a new concept. Due to the rearrangement in the trade fair calendar caused by the pandemic, the organizers are currently conferring about the possibility of reinterpreting the initiative as a convention to discuss issues of relevance to all involved industries to continue to develop and transmit a unified message.

There will thus be much that is new and different at Plast 2023, which has always been a strategic showcase especially for Italian manufacturers of machinery for the plastics and rubber industry, who achieved growth in 2022 in spite of the troubled world economic situation. The Mecs statistical studies centre of the Amaplast trade association estimates Italian overall production reaching 4.5 billion euros, representing growth of 1% over 2021 and two points more than the pre-pandemic year 2019.

The 2018 edition of Plast drew in over 1,500 exhibitors in a net area of 55,000 square meters, with over 63,000 visitors, a significant proportion from abroad, confirming the event’s drawing power and international appeal. Plast is a broad technology showcase embracing materials and processes, finished products and services and the most advanced solutions developed by manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment, auxiliaries, and moulds, with over 3,500 units exhibited in the 6 pavilions occupied by the fair.