Records of attendance and sustainable solutions
In 12 editions, this was the largest Interplast – Plastic Technology Integration Fair and Congress in history, held from August 13 to 16, 2024, in Joinville-SC, with emphasis on sustainable solutions. The post-fair numbers followed the same trend with record attendance, which reached 32 thousand visitors. The prospect of generating business is 400 million, based on negotiations initiated at Interplast and which should be consolidated over the next 12 months.
“The fair is an important relationship channel and provides an environment conducive to starting negotiations. As these are products and machines with cutting-edge technology and high added value, it is natural that negotiations take a longer period”, explains organizer Richard Spirandelli, director of Messe Brasil.
The profile of visitors to the Interplast fair shows the quality of the public that participated in the fair and the business and knowledge events held in parallel. The data shows that 48% are company leaders and decision-makers. The segment with the greatest representation among visitors was packaging, followed by automotive, construction and electronics.
“The plastic packaging market is one of the most dynamic segments of the plastics sector in Brazil, driven by the growth of e-commerce, food, beverages and cosmetics. The outstanding participation of this sector at the fair indicates a search for new technologies and partnerships to meet the growing demand for more efficient and sustainable packaging”, says Spirandelli.
The origin of visitors is another point that draws attention. They came to the fair from all 27 states in Brazil and DF, with the largest number from the Southern states – Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, followed by São Paulo. The international representation also draws attention: visitors came from 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, but with a greater number from the United States, Paraguay, Chile and Argentina.
“The strength of the plastic processing market in Joinville and the southern region attracts a decision-making, technical and highly qualified public, who come to the fair to learn about and invest in new technologies for their industries”, comments Spirandelli.
With the organization of SIMPESC (Syndicate of the Plastic Material Industry of SC), organization of Messe Brasil and sponsorship of APTA, ALTAX7, ECO VENTURES, IMERYS, FIESC / SESI / SENAI, the Interplast fair has already started with impressive figures of 100% occupation of the useful area of Expoville’s three pavilions, including a 2,000 m² annex built for the edition. It covered 25 thousand m² of exhibition, and is consolidated as the largest industrial fair held in the state of Santa Catarina and one of the main ones in Brazil. It received a 60% increase in the number of exhibitors, compared to the previous edition, reaching 400 exhibitors and a thousand brands from eight countries: Germany, Austria, Brazil, China, Dubai, Italy, Taiwan and Uruguay.
POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE AMONG EXHIBITORS AT THE FAIR
The positive atmosphere can also be observed among the fair’s exhibitors. Wittmann Battenfeld, a renowned global leader in plastics processing technology, has participated in the fair since the first edition, in 1999. Director Cássio Saltori says that he received good visits and the technical standard of Joinville in terms of public is differentiated. Perhaps due to the ease of movement, visitors include the operators of our machines, unlike São Paulo, where the public is restricted to supervisory and management positions. In Joinville, the factory floor visits us, which is very productive”, he comments.
The company launched a fully automated production cell, within industry 4.0, which was sold entirely to Krona. “The employees came to see how it works and were impressed with the technology that eliminates the need to handle the parts manually”, he details. Wittmann Battenfeld received customers mainly from Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.
Present at Interplast since 2022, APTA had its stand full throughout the fair, welcoming customers and suppliers. Leader in the distribution of engineering plastics in Brazil, the company celebrates the consolidation of business during the event. “Our expectation is to double the volume of business closed during the fair, in relation to the previous edition, in addition, we have opened opportunities for new customers”, celebrates Stephanie Costa, growth supervisor at APTA Resinas.
Carnevalli is another company that always participates in Interplast and, in this edition of the fair, launched a three-layer coextruder. “We received many customers from all over Brazil, we closed some deals, and others are well underway, showing that the market is booming. After participating in a fair like Interplast, our sales increase by 10% to 15%. Among the visitors we receive are customers, new suppliers and companies that are entering the plastics market”, reveals Wilson Carnevalli, commercial director at Carnevalli.
OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE OF THE PLASTIC PROCESSING INDUSTRY
In his presence at Interplast José Ricardo Roriz Coelho, president of the Brazilian Plastics Industry Association (ABIPLAST), brought an optimistic vision for the future of the plastics processing industry. He commented on the profile of the fair as an environment to learn about innovations, the circular economy and access machine and equipment technology.
“We observe that people who are involved in day-to-day operations at the factories come to the fair to exchange information and this makes the plastics market evolve. People here look ahead to what we should do for the future of the plastics industry, with an optimistic vision and the fair makes this possible”, he details.
The president of ABIPLAST details that plastic is increasingly in demand in Brazil and throughout the world and has a very wide scope, as it participates in practically all industrial activities, in commerce, services, electronic products and agriculture. “For a vision of the future of plastic, we are developing products that are increasingly friendly from an environmental point of view, products that can be reused and recycled. You have a design that facilitates this recycling, so when the plastic is no longer used, you can recover and transform the material again into a noble product”, he explains.
In relation to the market, Roriz highlights that in the first half of the year the Brazilian manufacturing industry grew 2.7%, while the plastic industry grew 5.9%. “This is an indication that plastic is taking up more and more space, with innovations that expand its use”, he comments.
He mentions that today, in agriculture alone, 800 thousand tons are used per year, apart from the automotive, construction, electronics and health industries for packaging medicines. “We look at the market growing with great optimism and, with this, we are attracting investments, which in the next four years should reach around 65 billion reais. This is very positive to increase current numbers, as we are earning almost 130 billion reais per year”, he celebrates.
The executive president of ABIPLAST, Paulo Teixeira, who participated in the opening of Interplast, highlighted that the fair has established itself as one of the main plastic fairs in Brazil, bringing new solutions and companies. He recognizes that side events offer qualification and relevant content, contributing to the success of the fair. “With each edition, the expansion of the event becomes more visible, with the formation of new pavilions, which demonstrates its importance and growth. Interplast is a unique opportunity to learn about trends, review contacts and network. The positive repercussion of the fair among companies in the sector and in the media reinforces its prominent role”, he highlights.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURED IN THE FAIR’S PROGRAMMING AND STACKS
In parallel to the fair, Interplast brought a series of possibilities for training professionals in the plastics processing industry, with emphasis on topics related to sustainability and circular economy. Along with this, practically 100% of exhibitors presented solutions or processes related to this topic. More than 60 hours were dedicated to knowledge.
Interplast attended CINTEC – Innovation and Technology Congress promoted by the SENAI Institutes of Innovation and Technology in Santa Catarina. The Sector Chamber of Machines, Equipment for Quality Control, Testing and Measurement (CSQI) of the Brazilian Association of the Machinery and Equipment Industry (ABIMAQ) promoted the Plastics Metrology Seminar.
Exhibitors at the fair held 29 Workshops with presentations made by experts in solutions for the plastics processing industry. The Circular Economy Forum, nationally recognized for its contribution to the advancement of sustainable practices, attracted professionals and thinkers in the sector. It was promoted by Revista Plástico Sul in partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul entities Simplas, Sinplast-RS and Simplavi.
The Business Roundtable was a space parallel to the fair dedicated to bringing buyers and suppliers together at negotiation tables. Companies participated. The event was attended by more than 50 companies from segments such as Automotive, Packaging and Civil Construction, including buyers and sellers, and 360 business meetings were held, focused on demands and solution offers.
The Recicla Plástico Space within the fair presented how the circular economy happens in practice with the involvement of different links in the plastic chain. In a partnership with entities in the sector, Espaço Recicla Plástico, organized by Termotécnica, was sponsored by CNRPLAS – National Chamber of Plastic Material Recyclers of ABIPLAST – Brazilian Plastics Industry Association -, and Movimento Plástico Transforma. It also had the support of Projeto Isopor Amigo, Messe Brasil, promoter of Interplast, and SIMPESC.
“For our part, Termotécnica had an extremely productive participation together with the supporting entities in Espaço Recicla Plástico. We had the opportunity to show the public that EPS, better known as Styrofoam*, is 100% recyclable. Repor, a raw material that Termotécnica develops from recycled post-consumer EPS, attracted many interested parties as an alternative for reintroducing this material into new production processes, realizing the circular economy in practice. We presented the various applications of our Repor and we were very pleased with the various leads that emerged at the fair with good prospects for closing deals”, comments the president of Termotécnica, Albano Schmidt.
COMPETITION RESULTS
The Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina (FIESC) brought something new to Interplast. Together with the fair organizers and partner companies, FIESC promoted the CNC Masters and Injection Masters competition. The competition follows the WorldSkills Competition model, an international professional education tournament that involves students from technical professions from all over the planet.
The initiative brought together 34 industry workers who demonstrated their skills in operating CNC milling and polymer injection machines. The tests were carried out during the four days of Interplast.
The competition sought to stimulate interest and development of skills in operating CNC milling machines and operators of polymer injection machines; recognize and reward operators with exceptional skills and advanced knowledge in this area; promote the exchange of knowledge and best practices between experienced professionals and newcomers and attract new professionals to the growing job market.
Injector Master Champions
1st Rafael Cavilha – Whirlpool – Joinville-SC
2nd Wilson J Luiz – WJL – São Paulo-SP
3rd Cleverson Nitzkze Vieira -Ciaplastic – Araquari-SC
CNC Master Champions
1st Vinicius Miguel Cesconetto – Herten – Joinville-SC
2°Alan Fagundes – Moldmaq – Joinville-SC
3rd Luis F. Tiso – Mafra Tooling – Joinville-SC
The winners were awarded at the fair and received a certificate of recognition and amounts that could be used as discounts on SENAI courses. It will be R$5,000, R$3,000 and R$1,500, for first, second and third place, respectively, in each category.
