Plast 2012 | show preview
We look ahead to next month’s Plast exhibition in Milan with a particular focus on Italian suppliers of machinery and materials
The compounders’ guide to Plast 2012
Italy’s Plast trade show has long presented a showcase for Italian manufacturers of plastics machinery and materials, and this year’s event is likely to continue that trend, with many of the country’s suppliers exhibiting their latest innovations in Milan. Like Germany’s K fair and the US NPE show, Plast
runs on a three-year cycle. That means it last took place in 2009 in the depths of the global downturn. The mood at that last event was far from buoyant and the difficult economic times could be seen across the Fiera Milano exhibition grounds. Even so, more than 55,000 visitors attended the last show. Italian visitors accounted for 68% of the total
exhibition attendees in 2009. Of the 17,589 overseas visitors the majority came from Europe, with Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland at the top of the list. However, Africa and the Middle East were also well represented at the show. Almost 1,500 companies exhibited at the last event
with close to 80% of these being machinery and equipment companies. While Italy’s economic climate is still challenging today, its export-led machinery makers are seeing better times. Assocomaplast, the associa-
www.compoundingworld.com
tion representing more than 170 Italian plastics and rubber machinery and equipment makers, showed a total production value for the sector of €4 billion in 2011, up by more than 11% on 2010. This total includes mould, dies and replacement parts. Almost all of the growth was accounted for by
exports, with overseas sales values up by almost 21% on the previous year to reach €2.43 billion. Italian machinery makers have not managed to stage a bounce-back on the scale of the country’s German rivals, so they will be keen to capitalise on the recover- ing global machinery market at their own industry showroom – Plast 2012. Italy remains a significant player in the global
plastics machinery market. Production data for 2010 from the European machinery manufacturers associa- tion Euromap shows that, in value terms, Italy is the third largest producer of plastics and rubber machinery in the world with close to 10% of a global market worth just over €23 billion (excluding moulds and dies). China led in 2010 with a 29% share and Germany held 21%. Germany and China are also two of Italy’s top export markets, together with France, the US and Russia. All
April 2012 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 61
Plast returns to the modern Fiera Milano exhibition
centre next month
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