Brazil's machinery industry association Abimaq will promote a new trade show, dubbed Plástico Brasil, that will compete directly with the long-running Feiplastic as the key event for Brazil's plastics sector.
The new fair also is being supported by the European plastics machinery trade association Euromap, the first time that group has endorsed a plastics exhibition in Brazil.
São Paulo-based Abimaq decided earlier this year to promote its own machinery trade fairs — which include Plástico Brasil and events for the metal-mechanic and machinery-tools sectors — after years of frustration with Feiplastic's organizer Reed Exhibitions Alcântara Machado, according to Abimaq Executive President José Velloso.
“We've had a long-running dream of having our own trade shows for various reasons,” he said.
Velloso mentioned Feiplastic's location, cost and logistics as reasons why Abimaq opted to promote its own fairs. He said Abimaq had made its frustrations known to Reed Alcântara in recent years.
“When a window of opportunity opened up, we booked the new São Paulo Expo pavilion for our three new fairs for 30 years,” Velloso said, referring to a new exhibition and convention center being constructed by French group GL Events in Brazil's biggest city.
The new multi-purpose center is being promoted as Brazil's largest exhibition center, with 100,000 square meters of usable space. The center replaces a smaller facility on the same location, which was demolished. The new center will open in 2016, and GL Events won a public concession to invest in and operate a new facility for 30 years.
A spokesman for Reed Alcântara Machado disputed Abimaq's complaints, saying that Reed's research shows that more than 90 percent of exhibitors from Feiplastic 2015 said they were satisfied with the event and planned to participate in 2017.
Reed Alcântara is a joint venture between London-based Reed Elsevier Group, the world's largest trade fair organizer, and Latin America's largest trade fair company, Alcântara Machado Feiras de Negócios.
Brazil's plastics industry trade association Abiplast, which is Feiplastic's official sponsor, did not respond to requests for comment. Reed said more details about Feiplastic 2017 will be available later this year.
Euromap, the European trade association, said it has previously supported only two shows in the Americas, NPE in the United States and Plastimagen in Mexico, but considers Brazil an important long-term market.
It is supporting Plástico Brasil because it will “be run on a brand new exhibition ground with high standards and enough space,” said Euromap Secretary General Thorsten Kühmann.
“This will be a plus for European presentations, especially for European national pavilions as well as for other international participants,” Kühmann said.
The new Brazilian show also agreed to coordinate its dates with other global plastics fairs, Kühmann said in an email.
“This means no overlapping of show dates with other major shows supported by Euromap. Altogether significant points for an international setup of the show,” he said.
The 2013 Feiplastic conflicted directly with the much larger Chinaplas exhibition, which is a Euromap-supported fair. The 2017 edition of Feiplastic, scheduled for late May, could conflict with Chinaplas 2017, which will likely be held in late May in Guangzhou.
Euromap represents 40 percent of the world's plastics and rubber machinery production and 50 percent of global exports.
Velloso said Brazilian plastics and rubber machinery companies associated with Abimaq have confirmed participation in Plástico Brasil, scheduled for March 22-24, 2017, and that many won't attend Feiplastic on May 22-26 of the same year.
A spokeswoman for Brazilian injection molding machinery group Indústrias Romi SA said her company plans to participate in only one Brazilian plastics fair in 2017, Plástico Brasil. She cited better logistics and infrastructure conditions promised at São Paulo Expo in comparison with older the older Anhembi expo center, where Feiplastic is regularly held.
Eighty percent of exhibitors expected to join Plástico Brasil are from the plastics and rubber machinery industry, while the remaining 20 percent are resin producers and distributors, Velloso said.
Velloso said Abimaq “has nothing against” Abiplast, and that “we've made them an invitation to be partners in our event. The invitation still stands.”
Brazil's trade association for the chemical industry, Abiquim, traditionally a Feiplastic sponsor, said it has yet to agree on sponsoring any plastics fair in 2017.
Braskem SA, the thermoplastic resin producer in the region, has been a Feiplastic sponsor for many years, but did not respond to requests for comment.
News editor-international Steve Toloken contributed to this story.
