MEXICO CITY —Tarsus Group plc has bought a 50 percent stake in Plastimagen México, one of Latin America's two largest plastics industry shows, from E.J. Krause & Associates Inc, of Bethesda, Md.
The two have formed a 50-50 joint venture called E.J. Krause Tarsus Events LLC to run not only Plastimagen México but also Expo Manufactura, Mexico's leading metalworking/manufacturing exhibition.
José Navarro, managing director of E.J. Krause de México, an EJK subsidiary, told Plastics News that as part of the deal, which was negotiated over several months, the Plastimagen brand will be used in countries outside Mexico.
Douglas Emslie, managing director of Dublin, Ireland-based Tarsus, said in a news release that the company will work with E.J. Krause to launch “collaborative replications of Tarsus' brands in Mexico and E.J. Krause's brands in emerging markets where Tarsus has an established footprint.”
The first effort will be the Expo Comm show in Indonesia, he said.
Emslie said the Mexican exhibition market is “highly fragmented” and “offers exciting potential for growth.” Neither Navarro nor Emslie revealed the financial details of the deal.
EJK bought the Plastimagen brand and those of two other trade shows from Mexican company Oprex SA de CV for $5 million in 2007. Oprex founder Elena Maribona organized 14 shows, starting in 1987.
Many credit her with enabling the $20 billion-plus Mexican plastics industry to present a united front to the world through Plastimagen.
The 19th Plastimagen México show will be held in Mexico City in November 2014 and Navarro said its 36,5973 square feet of “raw” floor space will be sold out shortly.
“We had a Plastimagen-Anipac booth at this year's K show in Germany and brought back more than 360 potential exhibitors,” Navarro said… “There's a lot of interest in the Mexican market right now.”
Anipac stands for Asociación Nacional de Industrias del Plástico AC.