PLAST organisers broke the news that the vast Italian plastics and rubber showcase will be breaking its three-year cycle, surprising the industry with September 2017 dates.
PLAST 2015
Mario Maggiani, CEO of PLAST organiser Promaplast, sat down with EPPM and a handful of journalists on the second day of the bustling event to discuss the growth of the show and exactly why we can expect another PLAST so soon.
"We are moving to the end of September 2017," he stated, "but starting from 2017 - in order to avoid misunderstanding - we will reconfirm the three-year cycle. We are crazy but not so crazy to overlap with K Show!"
"Why move? There are several reasons. As you know this year there's the overlap between PLAST and Feiplastic in Brazil and we've had a significant number of comments about this from Italian companies. The other reason is because in March, NPE officially announced the change of dates, so they will move to May. So the next time NPE takes place will be from May 7th-11th 2018. We were supposed to be May 8th-12th. Then we also have ChinaPlas in Shanghai at the end of April," Maggiani explained.
But while spring is busy, autumn is also famously hectic for the plastics industry in 2017 with Interplas's three-year cycle landing late that September in the UK and Germany's other big show besides K Show, Fakuma, taking place in October in the years the Düsseldorf behemoth lies dormant in its own three-year cycle.
Addressing this, Maggiani confirmed: "Our exhibitors would prefer to be two-to-three weeks from
PLAST 2015
The gates on the first morning of PLAST 2015.
Fakuma than to overlap with NPE or ChinaPlas."
The CEO added that after 2017, PLAST will return to its three-year cycle, with the next PLAST after 2017 to take place in 2020.
"September 2017 was the only acceptable option for us," he concluded.
Maggiani said that looking to 2017, recycling and composites will be prominent themes and the show's home will not move from the Fiera Milan exhibition centre.
Looking from the future to the here and the now, 2015 heralds the 17th edition of PLAST.
"We have almost reached 55,000 m sq of area with a slight decrease of four per cent compared to the previous edition in 2012. That's the only negative data to share. To be honest, considering the general economical situation in Italy and Europe, to have a reduction of four per cent is really a good result.
"We've increased in terms of exhibitor numbers. We exceed 1,500 exhibitors from 57 countries - down one from 58 three years ago."
"To give you an idea of the ratio between foreign and Italian companies," Maggiani said, "60 per cent are Italian, 40 per cent are foreign companies covering more or less all the different technologies. There is a significant number of machines on display and working. This is important not only to show the machine but to show it working so people realise how it functions, how it works. The booths [with working machinery are] more crowded. That's another important thing."
PLAST 2015 is also home to a number of smaller 'exhibitions within exhibitions'. Among these dedicated zones is the Rubber section, a niche market that has experienced a 30 per cent jump in floor space compared to 2012 - an increase Maggiani remarked is significant and unusual.
"We have also got 3DPLAST for the first time," he added. "All the world is looking at 3D printing."
Maggiani said he does not believe at present there is any real competition between additive manufacturing and injection moulding as the two technologies are so different.
"What I would like to underline - at least from my personal point of view - is that 3D printing could be a really good link between young people and plastic," he said, noting that plastic has a bad reputation in southern Europe due to the ongoing pollution crisis.
"I think 3D printing in particular can be an important link to teach teenagers that plastic is not so bad."
In addition, PLAST 2015 is hosting the first StartPlast - a dedicated area for startup companies who have to be less than four years old with an innovation that is ready for market. All 30 of the companies at StartPlast are exhibiting free of charge.
With all this exciting news and the array of engaging new features on offer, Maggiani was pleased to announce that unofficial figures from opening day confirm between 8,000 and 9,000 visitors, which is in-line with 2012 figures.
"I do not have any statistics for today, but I had the chance to go downstairs a couple of times and for sure there is a significant increase compared to yesterday."
