PLAST 2018

29 May - 1 June 2018, Milan

With a year to go until the fair, over 600 concerns have already confirmed that they will be participating at Plast 2018, reserving a surface area equal to two thirds the total of the 2015 edition.
This is an admirable result, also in light of the fact that many Italian and foreign exhibitors have stated their intention to present demo installations, offering an exhaustive and up-to-date panorama of available technologies. The international rubber and plastic show (organized by Promaplast Srl) is thus once again asserting itself as the most important European event for the sector in the year 2018. Along with the other fairs coordinating through the Innovation Alliance (Ipack-Ima, Meat-Tech, Print4all and Intralogistica Italia), it will occupy all pavilions of the FieraMilano exhibition center, making it the location’s second largest event in terms of surface area, after Salone del Mobile. Also at the upcoming edition, PLAST will be hosting three satellite exhibitions, dedicated to as many outstanding plastic and rubber sector supply chains: Rubber (in its third edition), 3D Plast (second edition, dedicated to additive manufacturing and related technologies) and Plast-Mat (in its debut, dedicated to innovative plastic materials).

The list of participating firms is available at plastonline.org.
Market visions. The business community’s enthusiasm over Plast 2018 is a reassuring sign, and this is further strengthened by the cautious optimism expressed among the plastic and rubber sector concerns, machine builders and manufacturers surveyed by Assocomaplast (the Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Molds Manufacturers’ Association) during January and February of this year, in light of improved orders collection for both export and the domestic market.
In particular, concerning the domestic market, these operators’ positive attitude can be attributed to high hopes regarding the Italian government’s “Industria 4.0” national plan, which provides for mechanisms to help firms invest in capital goods, namely super-depreciation and hyper-depreciation schemes, and the extension of the “Sabatini” law.