— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

The German and European plastics industries remain under considerable pressure. Volatile prices and supply chain uncertainty are part of everyday business, while it is unclear when demand will begin to recover. In these unpredictable times, the industry needs clear direction, confidence, and innovation.

At the 30th edition of Fakuma in Friedrichshafen, Germany, more than 1,500 exhibitors – around half from outside Germany – are showcasing new products and advanced technologies.

Despite the challenging market environment, the mood on Lake Constance is upbeat. The plastics industry remains a key sector, and Europe continues to be an important market and processing location.

How can European plastics processors prepare for the future and respond effectively to changing market conditions? The KI.PIE Group’s summit, Plastics Prices and Procurement: What’s Next?, held on the first day of the trade fair, addressed these questions. The focus was on plastics price developments and practical approaches to procurement strategy.

While production capacity in Europe is declining significantly, Asia – particularly China – continues to expand. Companies therefore need to plan ahead to secure volumes, review their sources of supply, and respond quickly to market changes.

“Courage and flexibility are becoming decisive factors in remaining competitive,” said Dimitrios Koranis, Managing Director of Koranis Purchasing Solutions. Global sourcing has become a necessity, he argued. His recommendation was to diversify procurement and act more quickly by identifying market trends early and planning accordingly.

These challenges were also at the heart of the KI.PIE Group’s expert panel, which brought together perspectives from Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. Moderated by Somya Abrol, Editor-in-Chief of Plastics Information Europe (PIE), the discussion featured Koranis alongside Vincent Breit, Senior Market Analyst at the KI.PIE Group, and László Bűdy, Managing Director of myCEPPI in Budapest, Hungary. The panel explored what an effective procurement mix will look like in the years ahead.

One point of agreement emerged: relying exclusively on established suppliers is no longer enough. Buyers need greater flexibility and a more agile approach to purchasing. “Longer-term contracts will remain important,” Breit noted, “but spot purchases are playing an increasingly significant role.”

The panel took different views on the future of recyclates. Bűdy pointed to limits on their use, particularly in Central Europe, as well as persistent quality challenges. Breit, by contrast, expects demand for recyclates to grow strongly in Western Europe over the coming years, with regulatory requirements at both national and European level likely to drive price premiums.

Providing greater insight into these market dynamics is the aim of pricenxt, the KI.PIE Group’s new analytics platform. Henry Praum, Director of Commercial & Finance at the group, presented the platform live for the first time at the summit. It is designed to help users assess price movements, identify market relationships, and make informed purchasing decisions.

Rather than relying on static price lists, pricenxt offers interactive visualisations of relevant polymer price data, accompanied by market commentary. Users can create their own boards to display and compare European contracts for feedstocks and plastics, recyclate price assessments, and regional spot quotations.

The platform also includes six-month forecasts, with price predictions for each of the next six months. These can be integrated into a personal dashboard to support planning, costing, and procurement decisions.

To explore the platform’s features, try pricenxt Analytics free for 30 days.