Plastimagen Returns

Running March 8-11 at the Centro Citibanamex exhibition center, Plastimagen was last held April 2-5, 2019. For Mexico, the final plastics trade show before the full onset of the pandemic was Expo Plásticos 2020, held March 11-13 in Guadalajara (that event was held again last November). Just 11 days after Expo Plásticos’ close, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that the country would enter Phase 2 of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, prohibiting gatherings for more than 100 people.

In the opening ceremony for Plastimagen 2022, at least that many people listened to Aldimir Torres, president of the National Association of the Plastics Industry (ANIPAC), call for this Plastimagen to act as the start of the economic reactivation of the sector.

In his comments, José Navarro, general director of Plastimagen’s organizer, Tarsus Mexico, noted the physical and emotional heft of a return to an in-person show with running equipment. Calling Plastimagen a “heavyweight” show, Navarro noted that the 2022 edition features more than 400 running machines on the exhibition floor weighing in at 679 tons.

That equipment was brought by the more than 480 exhibiting companies from 23 countries occupying the show’s floorspace of 34,000 m²—more than 365,000 ft². Those figures are down from what Tarsus reported for the last live Plastimagen in 2019 with 870 exhibitors and 45,000 m² of exhibition space, but as a first step back for Latin America’s burgeoning plastics sector it represents a strong one.

Representatives of various plastics associations from around the world were present for the opening ceremony—exhibitors hailed from 23 different countries and the event featured 11 international pavilions—including Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) President Tony Radoszewski. Radoszewski highlighted the various regulatory headwinds the industry faces in the U.S. at the local, state and federal levels, while still noting a bright side to the present challenges the industry faces.

“The good news is we have a great story to tell—people live longer, better and healthier lives because of plastics,” Radoszewski said. “Now we focus our time on telling that great story. We are the best product in all the phases we’re used, and that’s why plastics are so popular.”

Part of that story is being told by Plastimagen 2022. With a theme of More Green Than Ever, the show collocated with a circular economy summit organized by ANIPAC, and it plans to be completely free of plastics waste thanks to an initiative to collect all the plastic produced in the exhibition and send it off for recycling afterwards.

In addition, the first-ever Plastimagen Innovation Award was given to resin manufacturer Braskem Idesa for its post-consumer resin project, which has resulted the first PCR resin produced in Mexico approved for food-contact applications.