PLAST 2018 | EXHIBITION REVIEW


Plast pulls in the crowds


Long established as a shop window for Italy’s plastics machinery industry, Plast 2018 drew a strong attendance with the compounding sector well represented among the innovations.Peter Mapleston reports


Italy’s Plast 2018 exhibition, which took place in Milan from May 29 to June 1, proved a fruitful hunting ground for seekers of innovation among compounding equipment makers and compound- ers themselves. The show took place in a busy year for major international shows, coming soon after the annual Chinaplas fair and triennial NPE show in the US. However, Alessandro Grassi, President of the Italian plastics and rubber machinery associa- tion Amaplast and the company that organises Plast, Promaplast, said he was “quite satisfied” with the outcome. Grassi noted “the great satisfaction of the


exhibitors, who enjoyed the significant attendance by qualified operators and an impressive number of contracts signed directly at the fair. The expecta- tions - already quite ambitious - ended up being outstripped by reality.” Plast 2018 attracted a total of some 1,500 exhibitors over 55,000m2


of exhibition space. www.compoundingworld.com


Promaplast estimated that more than 63,000 people visited the show, although it said an exact number cannot be determined because tickets gave admission to four other related shows running at the Rho exhibition ground at the same time. Foreign visitors made up 27.5% of the total number of visitors; it said non-Italian attendees came from 117 different countries, with Spain, France, and Germany the most strongly represented. Plast has traditionally provided a shop window


for Italy’s machinery industry and this year was no exception. Looking specifically at the compound- ing sector, the country is home to some very well-known and globally active twin screw extruder and mixing machinery makers. It also has a strong compounding industry, especially in the polyam- ides area. This review article takes a look at the latest innnovations from some of the leading players from Italy and further afield. Italian compounding machinery maker Maris


July 2018 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 55


Main image: Italy’s Plast 2018 show attracted a strong attendance with plenty of compounding innovations on display


PHOTO: PROMAPLAST


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