As part of next year’s “Plast” (www.plastonline.org) industry fair, held in Rho / Italy from 5-9 May (see Plasteurope.com of 01.07.2014), organiser Promaplast (Milan / Italy; www.promaplast.org) is launching “Start Plast”, a space dedicated solely to new and innovative enterprises. Explaining the reasoning behind the decision, Promaplast managing director Mario Maggiani said, “Given the way the recession is dragging on and the serious difficulties that continue to plague all of Italian business, including the plastics and rubber industry, we feel it is our duty to find a way to facilitate young entrepreneurs and the companies that represent our future.”

“Start Plast” will include up to 50 start-up companies engaged in plastics, from converters to manufacturers and machinery suppliers as well as developers of process management, Promaplast said. The companies selected for this particular space will be able to exhibit their portfolio free of charge. The message this new section is supposed to drive home is that “it is still possible to do business in Italy”, the organiser said.

The five-day fair will also feature an international design competition, the “Plastic Technologies Award 2015”, which recognises original and innovative concepts.