interplastica and upakovka 2020 report positive results and a good atmosphere in the exhibition halls

- Packaging sector in Russia is booming
- Strong debut for new interplastica segment “Recycling Solutions”
- Lecture forums meet with great approval

At the last edition of the trade fair duo comprising interplastica, International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber and upakovka – Processing & Packaging, there were already signs that the Russian market was moving out of the trough again – at least for the plastics and rubber industries as well as for the packaging industry and related process industries. Both trade fairs held at the Central Exhibition Complex Expocentre in Krasnaya Presnya from 28 – 31 January substantiated this stabilisation. A total of 937 exhibitors from 40 countries attracted to the tune of 24,950 visitors mainly from Russia and the neighbouring states. The atmosphere in the halls was good. Exhibitors predominantly praised the high quality of leads.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, voiced his satisfaction with the course of interplastica 2020: “Russia continues to be an important market that is admittedly going through tough times but still experiencing plenty of movement. The interest taken in high-quality and innovative machinery, systems and materials continues to be high; companies want to invest and make efforts to also implement planned projects. Things are currently happening especially in terms of packaging, recycling and waste avoidance.” He underlines: “Especially today, trade fairs have an important role to play as information platforms, networking meeting points and business engines. With their participation the exhibitors at interplastica have proven that they bet on sustainable customer relations management and have solutions specifically geared to the Russian market in their portfolios.”

Silver Lining – Russian Packaging Sector

After very marked growth in the exports of German plastics and rubber machine to Russia in 2017 and 2018, VDMA’s Association for Plastics and Rubber Machines report of strong export declines in 2019. This means the Russian market is one of the many countries that bought fewer German machines last year. Commenting on this Managing Director of the Association Thorsten Kühmann said: “Despite these developments, there is still a silver lining on the horizon of the Russian packaging sector. Due to the embargo on Western foods domestic production was ramped up substantially. To conserve these regional foodstuffs, however, packaging has also to be produced increasingly in Russia. Furthermore, recycling and the circular economy are gaining increasing importance in Russia. At K 2019 German companies already showed that they are extremely well positioned in this respect and can score points with their technologies.”

Recycling Solutions, special show 3D fab+print, Forum Polymer Plaza

It comes as no surprise therefore that the new “Recycling Solutions” segment with 50 highly specialised firms met with great approval at interplastica 2020. In the Recycling area Austria was particularly well represented among the exhibitors. In the accompanying panel discussions lectures on waste management in Russia and exhibitors’ talks on the circular economy were very well received. Commenting on this, Harry Reichert, expert at the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association within VDMA, said: “The next few years will show whether the numerous declarations of intent will be followed by investment in collection and recycling so that successful business models can also be established across the board in this field.”

Innovative technologies for all sectors of plastics processing are presented not only at the stands of the 680 interplastica exhibitors but also in the lectures and discussions at the Polymer Plaza in Hall 1 as well as in the special show 3D fab+print Russia. There Russian and international experts addressed developments in, and possibilities of additive manufacturing in technical talks and demonstrations.

AMAPLAST confirms High Quality of interplastica leads

The Italian professional association AMAPLAST emphasized visitors’ high technical competency. More than 60 Italian exhibitors participated in interplastica 2020, 40 of them as part of the joint pavilion organised by the association. Stefania Arioli, Marketing Manager at Amaplast, said: “The quality of our leads was good and the technical enquiries often very detailed. The vast majority of visitors came from Russia as well as Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Russian market is currently not an easy place to work.

Thanks to its longstanding presence at interplastica, however, Italian manufacturers have been constantly on site therefore allowing them to successfully develop this market.” The lion’s share of exports from Italian producers to Russia is accounted for by extruders and extrusion lines; these are assets with high value creation and often customised to customers’ specific needs.

The next interplastica in Moscow will be held from 26 to 29 January 2021, again concurrently with upakovka.

interplastica forms part of the Global Gate brand, under which Messe Düsseldorf pools its global activities for the plastics and rubber industry. Comprising a total of ten events, this product portfolio leverages the expertise and experience gained by organising the world’s No. 1 ‘K’ fair in Düsseldorf and by developing successful regional events. The ten trade fairs in total are professional communication platforms serving as door openers for promising growth markets such as central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, China, India and South East Asia. Complete information can be found at www.k-globalgate.com

Exhibitor Testimonials for interplastica 2020

Stephan Doehler, Division Director Sales Europe, ARBURG GmbH + Co KG:
“interplastica is at present the biggest trade fair on the CIS market and a relevant platform for Arburg. We have been represented here for 20 years already and also had plenty of good conversations with both existing and potential customers in 2020. The visitors at our exhibition stand hailed from all of Russia and the neighbouring countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Armenia – including key decision-makers. Many of them took an interest in our packaging solutions for which we presented an exciting IMLK thin-wall application on a hybrid all-round injection moulding machine. There was also avid interest from the sectors medical technology and electronics. In general, we have observed a growing demand for high-quality and especially electrical machines on the thriving Russian market.”

Alexander Kulik, Sales Director Greater Russia, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics:
“We are happy we also took the opportunity to take part in interplastica this year. The conference programme revolving around sustainability came as a pleasant surprise – there were many interesting agenda items and discussions. I am delighted to see that sustainability aspects now also play a more prominent role in Russia. We welcomed customers from Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and some potential partners from the CIS to our stand. They were interested in recyclable solutions as well as the advantages of Dow’s industrial films over lower-cost materials. The Russian market is of high strategic importance to Dow. It is indispensable to listen to the market and to support our local partners.“

Latife Karabulut, International Trade Manager, Ekin Makina Plastik San. Tic. Ltd. Sti. Turkey:
“Ekin Machinery’s first participation at interplastica was a success. The leads we generated confirm to us that our injection moulding machines are very suitable for the Russian plastics market. Visitors to our stand primarily came from Russia but also from the neighbouring countries.”

Olaf Kassek, General Manager, ENGEL Russia:
“We were very satisfied with the number of visitors at our trade fair stand. We received plenty of interest for our fully electric tie-bar-less injection moulding machine with a 6-axle robot for changing mould inserts. The Russian market is a firm fixture for ENGEL despite a little dip in the automotive industry. We were positively surprised with the remarkable number of guests from Uzbekistan. This confirmed once again that interplastica is the most relevant plastics trade fair for Russia and its neighbouring states.”

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. KG:
"For Reifenhäuser, the interplastica 2020 has seamlessly continued the tradition of the previous event: It has picked up on global developments, was once again better attended and was characterised by a high level of interest from trade visitors. In addition, the Interplastica 2020 gives rise to justified hopes that the market situation will improve significantly in the coming months and that the topic of sustainability will become a major driver for new solutions and thus for economic growth in the plastics industry.”

Volker Berger, Regional Sales Manager, Starlinger & Co. Gesellschaft m.b.H.:
“interplastica has always been very important for Starlinger. We now have a market share of 60% in the textiles sector. In the recycling segment the trade fair is very important for making new contacts and deepening existing ones. For us the sales market in Russia is currently very stable. Starlinger has operated a local representation with our people for quite a while now and this is why we can quickly adapt to new market requirements. The footfall was a little lower this year but the quality of meetings was very high. Business deals were closed at the trade fair. too. We also rate the new recycling segment in Hall 8.1 as very positive.”

Reinhard Elting, Sales Director, WINDMÖLLER & HÖLSCHER KG:
“In general, we were satisfied with the trade fair. There were fewer contacts with new customers overall, many existing customers found their way to our stand, which was predominantly visited by visitors from Russia. Also striking was a sizeable number of companies from Central Asia – especially from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – as well as from the Ukraine. Topics such as the circular economy or raw material savings and plastics replacement solutions were very much in focus. The Russian market can be rated as important by all means and with good growth potential for Windmöller & Hölscher.”

Christian Kiene, Project Manager, WKÖ AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT Austria:
“interplastica 2020 proved a big success for the Austrian participants. In Russia personal contacts traditionally rank high for business relations. By taking part in the 2020 trade fair the companies from Austria have demonstrated to their Russian partners that these can also rely on them in economically challenging times. Based on longstanding, successful cooperations and the excellent reputation of Austrian technology know-how, interplastica 2020 also offered newcomers interested in extending their business to the CIS, excellent opportunities to establish profitable new business contacts.”