August, 24, 2012 - Crowded halls and a high level of products and new technologies presented by exhibitors showed why Interplast - Trade Fair and Congress of Plastic Technology Integration - was the sector’s most important fair in Latin America in 2012. Also, the 1st Latin American edition of EuroMold Brasil occurred simultaneously. Euromold - The International Trade Fair for Tool Manufacturers & Mold Makers - is the world’s most important event in the field of molds, and is originally held in Frankfurt, Germany. Interplast and Euromold Brazil took place from August 20-24th, in Joinville, Brazil. It is expected that the two exhibitions will generate about U$ 240 million in business as a result of contacts initiated during the event.

With visitors coming from 23 Brazilian states and 23 other countries - the majority from South America, followed by the USA and Europe - the total public exceeded 28,000 visits. Professionals from the plastic industry were among the highest number of visitors to the event, followed by the sectors of automotive, electronics, electric-electronics, household appliances, construction, energy, petrochemical, engineering, transportation and logistics, and foundry, among other industries.

Among the visitors of the two exhibitions, 43.23% were professionals who occupy management positions in organizations, from supervisors to presidents. The visitors’ main interests focused on machinery and equipment (33.86%), followed by raw materials (11.45%), automation and process controls (8.99%), and packaging (7.95%) .

Stäubli marked its presence in Interplast with positive results. "We contacted high-level customers, closed business and we also connected with partners", evaluates Ricardo Braghittoni, Sales Manager at Stäubli. Another newcomer to Interplast was Maqplas, which also closed deals during the fair. "We are surprised by the volume of visitors, quality of the public and new business prospecting", says Fernando Santos Juliani, Maqplas’ commercial director.

Made possible through a partnership between the German organizer DEMAT and Messe Brasil, Euromold was held in a new venue, attached to Expoville. "The EuroMold Brasil Pavilion, directly connected with Interplast’s pavilions, allowed visitors to circulate between the two fairs, further leveraging the exchange that the simultaneity of events provided", highlighted Richard Spirandelli, director of Messe Brasil.

In neighboring booths, German multinational Tebis established a business partnership with Sycad to represent the brand in Brazil. "We have global clients in the automotive market and we need to be closer to customers in order to keep the same standard of service and technical assistance", comments Manuel Marriço, channel manager of Tebis.

Two other German companies, OBO-Werke and Alwa, sharing the same stand at EuroMold Brasil, established business with a company from Curitiba. "Europe is experiencing a period of economic downturn and we visualize Brazil as a country of opportunities", emphasizes Kurt Hüther, business director of OBO-Werke.

W.S. Hazejager, Alwa’s export manager, praised the quality of the visitors. "We leave here with excellent business prospects and the certainty of returning to the next EuroMold Brasil", he adds.

During EuroMold Brasil, SENAI Tooling Network’s lecture cycle also took place. More than 200 people attended the meetings, which addressed technological trends for the tooling sector. "We were able to discuss proposals for improvements and create more interaction between production chain representatives and specialists, seeking to emphasize the importance of joint efforts to increase competitiveness and defense of Brazilian tooling business", explains Luiz Eduardo Leão, industrial development analyst from Senai Nacional.

Professionals marked their presence at the Career Space

There were 150 vacancies available and 11 recruitment and selection companies, representing 100 companies, especially tool and mold makers and plastic industries from Joinville and the region. That's how the Career Space presented itself to Interplast and EuroMold Brasil visitors, as an unprecedented initiative in technical events occurring in Joinville. The result at the end of the fair exceeded expectations for Pedro Luiz Pereira, president of the Brazilian Association of Human Resources - Santa Catarina Sectional (ABRH-SC). "There were about 500 resumes and contacts", he says.

The project, conducted through a partnership between Messe Brasil and ABRH-SC, aims to divulge existing vacancies in the market for professionals who are in search of new challenges. "For a first edition, we achieved an excellent number of contacts. I believe that we will achieve our main goal, which is to bring the professionals closer to work opportunities", affirms Pereira.

Innovation was present at Cintec 2012 Plásticos discussions

Cintec 2012 Plásticos - Congress of Technological Innovation - finished on Friday, August 24th, a cycle of lectures and mini courses conducted in parallel with Interplast. The congress, organized by Sociesc (Educational Society of Santa Catarina), was attended by 550 people.

A highlight was the inauguration lecture with José Ricardo Roriz Coelho, president of Abiplast (Brazilian Plastic Industry Association) on "Plastics processing sector: main challenges and quest for competitiveness". Roriz stated during the lecture that the current scenario is positive for the segment, with demand growth driven by the population’s rising incomes. The segment consists of 11,500 companies and is a major generator of jobs and income. "It is the industry’s third largest generator of jobs and pays the highest salaries among the five sectors that most employ in Brazil", said the leader.

Events approved by exhibitors

A climate of satisfaction permeated the almost 25,000 m² of pavilions of Interplast and EuroMold Brasil. Exhibitors celebrated the good public who attended the fairs and the business and partnerships achieved during the event.

For the president of Krauss Maffei, Klaus Jell, Interplast is an extremely important event for the plastics industry and the 2012 edition was excellent. "The fair was very organized, bringing many innovations to visitors. We have many projects and we took advantage of this space to disclose them and interact with our public", he affirms.

For the newcomers to EuroMold Brasil, the international credibility of the event weighed heavily. And the Brazilian edition lived up to expectations. "We were impressed with the structure and quality of the fair’s first edition. Undoubtedly, it exceeded, by far, our expectations. We were able to get closer to our customers and still prospect new partnerships", says João Ricardo Nascimento, Polimold’s commercial representative.

The Israeli company Objet, which already participates in EuroMold Europe, also exhibited in the 1st edition of EuroMold Brazil. "We could not miss the fair’s Latin American edition. Our expectation for the event was positive, and here we found a qualified public, which is seeking to renew themselves and to know what is new in the industry, which reinforces the importance of our presence here", said Renata Sollero, Regional Manager for Objet in South America.

For Ecomaster’s commercial manager, David Campos, Interplast is a great source of relationship network. "We see the south of Brazil as a very promising market, and therefore, we want to consolidate our brand with customers. Interplast is an excellent showcase to promote our products and technologies", he says.

Source: Messe Brasil