Italy’s flagship plastics fair “Plast” (www.plastonline.org), held from 8-12 May 2012, was able to reassert its role as Europe’s second most important plastics event, on the heels of “K” and ahead of “Fakuma”. Although visitor numbers were down slightly, organiser Promaplast, a member of Italian plastics machinery association Assocomaplast (Assago; www.assocomaplast.org), said that all considered, the event was a success.

Some 1,504 companies from 58 different countries exhibited at this year’s fair – a figure that indicates a return to stability, following 1,660 exhibitors in 2000, 1,703 in 2003, 1,551 in 2006 and 1,487 from 44 different countries in 2009. Nevertheless, at 56,832 m², the net exhibition space was down 5% over 2009 (59,714 m²). Exhibitors were organised across six different halls (in 2009 it was still seven), which were excellently organised, allowing visitors with a specific focus to quickly wrap up their visits with potential suppliers.

The event attracted some 50,593 visitors, signifying a continuation to the successive drop in attendees. Whereas Plast still drew about 70,600 visitors in 2000, the figure dropped to 67,900 in 2003 and then rose to around 70,000 again in 2006. The last event, held in March 2009, only managed to attract about 55,000 visitors. Although the 2009 edition coincided with the height of the global economic crisis, that year’s visitor tally probably was comparatively high, given that the fair coincided with the packaging exhibition “IPack Ima” and the printing fair “Grafitalia-Converflex”. It thus remains unclear whether the poor visitor numbers are a reflection of Italy’s ailing economy.

At one-third of the total (18,200), the share of international visitors has remained in line with past trends. In 2000, some 23,700 visitors from abroad attended Plast, in 2003 the number was 24,700, in 2006 it stood at 21,700 and in 2009 at about 17,600. The number of visitors from Russia more than doubled over 2009, and there was also a marked increase in attendees from Latin America (up 53%), Turkey (up 41%) and several eastern European countries. By contrast, visitor numbers from both Portugal and France were down over 2009 – by 37% and 19% respectively – as was the share of attendees from Germany, Austria, Egypt and Israel.

There were a surprisingly large number of materials exhibitors – including producers and distributors of colour and filling materials as well as reinforcements, compounders and distributors. Versalis (Milan / Italy; www.polimerieuropa.com) – the new incarnation of Polimeri Europa (see Plasteurope.com of 12.04.2012) – made its debut at the fair. Despite the large number of advertisements for the new/old group, its presentation was closely aligned to parent company Eni (Rome / Italy; www.eni.it).

Italy’s strong plastics machinery sector was fully represented in Milan as local peripheral technology producers kept up with past practice and showcased their machinery at elaborate stalls. What the organisers had not planned, however, was the occupation of Romi’s (Indústrias Romi, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste / Brazil; www.romi.com) booth by workers of Italian subsidiary Romi Sandretto (Grugliasco and Pont Canavese near Turin; www.sandretto.it), who were protesting the imminent closure of their plants.

The desperate act served to highlight the difficult situation in which Italy’s plastics machinery sector finds itself: As a result of several cutbacks, many companies now find themselves unable to compete with Germany’s globally active high-tech players or for that matter Asian producers capable of turning out higher unit numbers. Having already conquered sections of the Italian market, these Asian players were out in full force at Plast as well. It was not surprising therefore that a common topic at the fair were the future prospects of Italy’s once renowned machinery makers. Stirring the pot was the insolvency of extrusion line manufacturer Ghioldi (Marnate / Italy; www.ghioldi.it) – see Plasteurope.com of 21.05.2012 – which further highlighted the sector’s precarious situation.

The next Plast will be held from 5-9 May 2015, and is set to coincide with Expo Milan, held from 1 May to 31.