International profile and comprehensive content of the main exhibition and side events at the major exhibitions dedicated to the plastics and rubber industry

September, 5, 2023 - Taking place from 5 to 8 September in the halls of Fiera Milano in Rho, PLAST 2023 is the main international event for an industry that has a significant presence in all markets, constantly dedicated to the research and development of innovative solutions for technology, sustainability, and new materials. Exhibitors and visitors can also find a rich array of side events, conferences, and networking opportunities with a strong focus on innovation, the circular economy, sustainability, and energy savings – the guiding themes of the fair.

The exhibitions in figures

One thousand three hundred exhibitors occupying fifty thousand square metres of exhibition space create a veritable citadel of innovation wholly dedicated to the plastics and rubber industry, which is an important presence in the lives of people and the operations of businesses, with a focus on innovation processes guided by the concept of sustainability. The entire industry is focused on developing innovative, sustainable solutions that will conserve the extraordinary performance of articles made with plastics and/or rubber.

The exhibitions witness significant international participation with over fifty nationalities represented among the exhibitors; roughly half are Italian (54%) and the rest from other countries (46%). This balance testifies both to the attractiveness of the event in the eyes of major international players and to the stature of the Italian plastics and rubber industry, one of Europe’s foremost.

A dynamic market

Based on the third edition of the National Survey presented at the recent Amaplast assembly, the MECS-Amaplast Statistical Studies Centre has outlined a positive snapshot of the plastics and rubber technology sector, which ended the year with a turnover of 4.35 billion euros, representing an 8.1% increase over 2021, placing 2022 as the second-best year ever. The main factor in this historic result is exports, which showed a particularly positive trend toward the end of the year, with a total value of 3.16 billion euros, above the psychological threshold of 3 billion and recording an 8.5% gain over the previous year.

Focusing on Italian manufacturers, exports – which represent 72.7% of production – show sustained growth toward the principal geographical markets: EU (+8%), North America (+6.6%), extra-EU Europe (+8%), and the Far East (+9%). The general categories of exported machinery have extrusion systems at 20.8% of total turnover for Italian manufacturers (up 13.7% over 2021), followed by auxiliaries (+13.7%), injection systems (+9.5%), and other machinery (+24.2%).

Positive signals were also received from the Italian domestic market, which grew by 6.8% with respect to 2021 with turnover exceeding 1.18 billion euros. The top three client industries were packaging (40.6% of total turnover), automotive (15.9%), and construction (11%).

Satellite-Shows

The range of content at the fair is enriched by three satellite- shows taking place as part of PLAST 2023:

• Rubber: dedicated to the entire value chain of the rubber industry;
• 3D Plast : focusing on additive manufacturing and 3D printing, fast prototyping, modelling software, and related technologies;
• PlastMat: dedicated to innovative plastics and related solutions.

The event will be open to visitors until next Friday, September 8th.

More information can be found on the website: www.plastonline.org

Photo: Plast's Facebook page