Photo 1: Plastic Metal's stand featuring its Multipower 400 Injection Molding Machine during Plast 2026 in Milan.

With over fifty years of experience, Plastic Metal is an Italian injection molding machine manufacturer based in Gambellara (VI), Italy. Plastic Metal produces injection molding machines for thermoplastics with a clamping tonnage ranging from 50 to 3200 tons. Plastic Metal's machine production occurs entirely in Italy.

F.lli Virginio S.r.l, an Italian company also belonging to the NPM group, manufactures conveying systems, automation and ancillary accessories for the plastics processing industry, including the manufacting of fully automated production cells.

Plastic Metal and F.lli Virginio had a busy stand during PLAST 2026 in Milan, from June, 9 to 12. Brazilianplastics.com had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Massimo Virginio, Managing Director of Plastic Metal, during the exhibition. The interview is below:

- Brazilianplastics.com: What are the main products and services of Plastic Metal on display at Plast 2026??

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - We presented our MULTIPOWER range, Plastic Metal’s family of hybrid IMMs, available in several versions — including ESP, H, HE and Multi Injection (B Injection and Co-injection) — all built on the same hybrid technology. To round out the offering, we presented the integrated NPM Group solution: IMM, conveyor belt, robot, feeder, dosing unit and mixer as a single turnkey package, for customers who want one partner for the entire molding line. The NPM Group consists of Plastic Metal for IMMs and F.lli Virginio for ancillary systems.

- Brazilianplastics.com - Can you tell us more about Plastic Metal’s co-injection technology?

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - Our co-injection technology is patent-protected and is one of Plastic Metal’s most distinctive strengths. It allows multi-material parts to be molded in a single cycle, optimizing material usage, barrier properties and the mechanical performance of the finished part — with real cost and quality benefits for the end customer. It is also a key factor in the circular economy: both companies and society as a whole can greatly benefit from this technology.

- Brazilianplastics.com - What are the main developments at Plastic Metal for the use of recycled materials in injection molded parts?

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - The hybrid technology in our machines allows for very precise plasticization control, which is essential when working with recycled or regranulated materials while keeping part quality consistent — one of the main challenges when shifting from virgin to recycled material. This fits into a broader sustainability commitment at NPM Group level.

Photo 2: From left to right -Diego Soldini (Sales Manager at Plastic Metal), Eduardo Uhmann (Engineering Supervisor at HERC Plastics, Brazil), Marzia Virginio (Managing Director at Plastic Metal), Massimo Virginio (Managing Director at Plastic Metal) and Flávio Venzon (Industrial Director at Sulbras Plastics, Brazil ) during PLAST 2026 in Milan.

- Brazilianplastics.com - How do you see the injection molding market today in Europe and worldwide?

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - The global injection molding machine market is worth roughly $17.4 billion in 2026, with growth projected at a 5.1% annual rate through 2036, and the strongest trend is the shift toward electric and hybrid machines for better energy efficiency and lower operating costs. But if you look at what’s actually happening in the industry, the last few months have spoken clearly: some of the names historically most tied to all-electric technology have ended up in forced mergers, restructuring, and quite serious financial difficulties — episodes that haven’t gone unnoticed by anyone who has worked in this sector for years. It’s not an isolated case, it’s a signal: pure electric promises efficiency on paper, but hybrid is the technology proving itself genuinely solid, reliable and sustainable over time.

For those who started out betting only on other technologies, the technological gap with Plastic Metal today is effectively unbridgeable: years of parallel development in software, hardware and mechanics, with a library of cycles and know-how built up over time, isn’t something you make up overnight. And it’s not just theory — our latest physical tests have clearly confirmed that hybrid consumes less than electric, with markedly superior efficiency, maintenance and sustainability. Plastic Metal chose hybrid years ago, and today that choice is proving to be the winning one.

- Brazilianplastics.com - Can you tell us more about the various products offered by F.lli Virginio?

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - F.lli Virginio is going through a very solid growth phase, and you can see it first in the product itself: our conveyor belts have taken a generational leap, both in performance and in design — cleaner, more refined-looking, built to fit visually well into a modern plant, not just to work well. But our real strength is that we cover the entire material-handling chain: belts, granulation systems and complete transport solutions, all engineered to work in synergy with Plastic Metal IMMs under one group logic. Choosing F.lli Virginio isn’t just choosing a component — it’s choosing a partner who handles your entire material flow, start to finish.

- Brazilianplastics.com - Any other comments you would like to add ?

- Mr. Massimo Virginio - We would like to add that NPM group has now agency and service in Brazil (since the K show) and is ready to enter full force into the Brazilian market.