• The best edition yet. Exhibitors report more machines sold on the exhibition floor than in previous editions. In its twenty-first edition, Plastimagen México 2017 attracted over 840 exhibiting companies from 31 participating countries
  • More than 32,200 attendees from a variety of industries, 13 international pavilions, one specialized pavilion hosted by ANIPAC, and two new exhibition areas.
  • More than 40 visiting countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Holland, Panama, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.
  

Plastimagen México 2017 registered an unprecedented amount of success as it drew to a close. Latin America’s most important event in the plastics industry, now in its twenty-first edition, attracted 840 exhibiting companies from 31 participating countries.

The more than 32,200 visiting professionals from a wide variety of industry sectors including automotive, transport, plastic bags, agriculture, packaging, electronics, construction, domestic electronics, cosmetics, office/home products, sports, chemistry, medical devices, recycling companies, and piping systems, among others, explored the entire exhibition floor seeking the latest solutions and products for their respective industries. They toured the various exhibition halls and the 13 international pavilions hosted by Germany, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, the United States, Spain, India, Italy, Portugal, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Korea, and one specialized pavilion hosted by ANIPAC. They were also treated to two new exhibition areas: Hall E (Valparaíso/Ballroom) and Hall F (Heavy Machinery Pavilion), which boasted the largest machine ever presented during an exhibition, weighing in at 95 tons.

Plastimagen México 2017 was visited by professionals from more than 40 countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany , Guatemala, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Holland, Panama, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, to name just a few.

More than 1,200 machines and machinery systems were on show, fully functioning "live" at the event. This year, the exhibition presented the latest in low energy consumption machinery, hybrid electric machines, even faster machines, producers of biodegradable packaging, new materials for containers, and machinery for recycling, among many other solutions. Exhibitors reported selling more machines on the exhibition floor during this edition than in any other previous edition.

This year, Plastimagen México 2017 launched its “International Program of Conferences” on Tuesday, November 7th with a presentation by Matthew Lenninton, Scientist at PolyAd Services, who delivered a lecture entitled "The Use of Nanotechnology in Plastics - Practical Cases", presenting the conclusions of his research in which he explained the efficiency of mixed mineral filler reinforcement.

The keynote address of the day focused on the "NAFTA Update - How the Industry Participates". Lenninton highlighted what the plastics sector has done to ensure that the treaty benefits Mexico and what progress has been made.

The second day of speeches focused on Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). This trend has been increasingly permeating the industry as it has allowed companies to become more time-effective, to avoid loss of production opportunities, and to solve problems before they arise.

Oliver Lindenberg, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mold - Masters / Milacron, presented the topic "The Impact of IoT on the Molding Factories of the Future.” In other discussions, JochenMitzler, Head of Strategic Product Management at the KraussMaffei group, highlighted the importance of providing customers with specific solutions to problems that may arise and potentially lead to a significant loss of time and/or money.

Rudolf Pichler, Regional Sales Manager for North, Central and South America at WittmannBattenfeld, gave a presentation entitled "Industry 4.0 - Trends in the Digitization of Value Chains through the Integration of Data Processing Technology”, in which he explained the need for connecting the means of production in order to improve performance. Wittmann achieves this through the use of peripheral equipment such as the R9 robot. He concluded by saying that smart companies such as his offer Industry 4.0 solutions, and by doing so are able to solve problems in half the time.

The final keynote address of the day entitled "Inclusive Industrial Plastics; Present and Future” was delivered by Cleantho de Paiva, Director of BraskemIdesa Mexico and Juan Antonio Hernández, President of ANIPAC.

Cleantho de Paiva began his lecture, "One word: Plastic. The Future Belongs to Plastic", by offering an image from the film “The Graduate”. He explained that by 2020, 18% of all car components will be made of plastic, in comparison to 6% of parts when manufacturing began.

Hernandez went on to detail that this industry’s transformation is based principally on micro and small companies, which represent 84% of the plastics industry, while large companies represent only 4%, and medium companies 12%.

Two workshops were also offered. The first was dedicated to injection molding, maintenance,machines and molds, and was delivered by GianbattistaBellina of Assocomaplast. The second workshop featured Intelligent Bags and Recycling and was given by the technical commission of ANIPAC, represented by Gabriel Catino, Aldimir Torres, and Abraham Beutelspaches, who exhibited the bags, their uses, and how to make the most of the final product.

Source: Plastimagen Press Service