Mexico City — Plastimagen 2025 was a vibrant show, organized for the first time by British publishing, business intelligence and exhibitions group Informa plc's Informa Markets México.
Close to 30,000 visitors were expected to pass through the doors of the Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City over the four days the show lasted, March 11-14.
Security was good. Uniformed guards patrolled the aisles. Scores of employees were on hand to answer questions and orientate the disorientated. PR staff messaged journalists several times a day offering to set up interviews with industry professionals.
But there was one problem and it was not the organizers' fault: Getting into and out of the venue was tough and required the patience of Job.
A week or so before the start of Plastimagen, this reporter arranged to meet the representatives of three different companies on their respective booths on day two.
By mid-afternoon, none of them had arrived and the planned interviews never took place.
Presumably the non-arrivals were caught up in the horrendous traffic jams outside. One prominent Mexican plastics industry executive said it took him and his wife an hour to advance 200 yards.
Once inside the roofed parking lot, which can accommodate 3,000 vehicles, they discovered the place was full and they were directed to another, open air area. The complex has parking spaces for 10,000 vehicles, it claims on its website.
When the couple left the show in the evening, they had to wait for 90 minutes for a shuttle bus to take them to their car.
"It's particularly challenging around Citibanamex because of the intersection of major roads (Periférico, Conscripto, Río San Joaquín) creating a natural bottleneck, especially during peak hours," a PR official working with Informa told Plastics News.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose — the more things change, the more they stay the same.