Chinaplas celebrates the big 3-0 in Shanghai
The world’s second largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries, CHINAPLAS, is celebrating its 30th birthday this year and will return to Shanghai for the occasion.
The show, which is now Asia’s biggest, has come a long way since its beginnings in Beijing in 1983, when the exhibition area was only 2,000 sq. m, and 90 percent of the exhibitors were from overseas.
For the 2016 edition, the total exhibition area is expected to reach 240,00 sq. m with some 3,200 exhibitors and an estimated 140,000 visitors from across the globe expected to attend.
"The 30th edition of CHINAPLAS has marked a significant milestone for the show. When it was first inaugurated in 1983 in Beijing, China, it was a very small show consisting of barely over a hundred exhibiting booths in some two thousand square meters of area,” explained Ms Ada Leung, General Manager of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd, the organiser of CHINAPLAS.
“To date, the show has been developed to the world's second largest International show and the China's only plastics and rubber trade show approved by UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry), serving over 3,200 exhibitors and some 140,000 professional buyers all over the world."
A change in the times
The organisers of CHINAPLAS say that from its roots as a small show, where domestic visitors came to see the best of the technology abroad, China’s own manufacturing industry is now well represented and one which is exporting more machinery than ever.
The show’s international nature now attracts overseas visitors from more than 150 countries and regions, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of the show's visitors. This is a huge benefit to British exhibitors at the show, providing the ability to connect with visitors from a number of countries.
This was apparent during the 2014 event, when the show was last held in Shanghai, as the BPF’s Philip Law, who represented the British Pavillion, explained:
“The British Group reported brisk business throughout the show,” Law commented. "Around 50 percent of the visitors to the BPF stand were from outside China and it is clear that Chinaplas is now seen by many as the show to go to. Specifically we saw a large numbers of visitors coming from Africa, Middle East, India and Australia.”
A change in theme
Like other manufacturing industries in China, the plastics and rubber industries are facing a transformation to meet the new era of ‘intelligent’ production. This, of course, marries with the country’s ‘Made in China 2025’ strategic plan, which aims to boost its industrial growth and comprehensively upgrade its manufacturing industries.
In order to reflect the trends seen in other major manufacturing nations, the show says it is “moving with the times” and will hold a dedicated conference to ‘Industry 4.0’ and the concept of the smart factory, as China embraces a move from “size to strength”.
In addition, the 2016 show theme, ‘Greenovation for a Smart Future’ relates to the show content that will focus on green and innovative technologies, as well as intelligent manufacturing solutions.
With a broader range of exhibits, the number of theme zones will rise to sixteen, say the organisers, among which the ‘Automation Technology Zone’, ‘Composite & High Performance Materials Zone’ and ‘Recycling Technology Zone’ are all new to the upcoming show in Shanghai.
Intelligent production lines and systems, industrial robots, high performance materials, composite materials, the latest and most complete recycling solutions as well as other plastics and rubber technology breakthroughs will also be showcased.