Not by chance, foreign visitors to PLAST 2012 grew both in number (more than 18,000 versus 17,500 in the 2009 edition) and by country of origin (121 versus 114 in the previous edition).
We reproduce only some of the opinions gathered during and after the fair.
"PLAST 2012 - says Daniela Cosmoiu, director of the Romanian association Aspaplast - has been for us, present with a stand offered by the organizers, and for the operators from our country who visited it, an interactive platform to develop contacts and even contracts, as well as a unique moment to gather information on the latest technological innovations presented by the most important companies in the sector worldwide".
Slovenian operators, who visited PLAST 2012 with the delegation organized by the Slovak sector cluster Giz Grozd Plasttehnika, were also very satisfied and, through the secretary of the association (Mrs. Urska Kropf), confirmed that they had "gathered interesting information and sector updates, in a scenario of international importance".
Italian visitors, on the other hand, decreased by 14%, to 32,400, but still in line with forecasts, in light of the economic difficulties faced by companies; PLAST 2012 has nevertheless shown a good vitality, both in terms of business contacts and in terms of the exhibition proposal presented by 1,514 companies, or 36 more than those present at the 2009 edition.
And exhibitors confirm this assessment. "The results of PLAST 2012 and RUBBER 2012 have, in our opinion, exceeded initial expectations" declares Riccardo Comerio, of Comerio Ercole. "Many operators, especially foreign ones, have visited our stand, despite the temporal proximity of other important international sectoral events." Giorgio Colombo, of Icma San Giorgio, is of a similar opinion, having registered a very positive influx of operators.
Andreas Dirnberger, sales manager for Erema, an Austrian plastics recycling plant manufacturer, emphasized that "their usual presence in Milan for PLAST was once again characterized by the perfect organization and collaboration of the secretariat, as well as the welcoming and functional nature of the Fiera Milano exhibition center".
For Shane O'Callaghan of Irish firm TSM "the quality of the contacts made at the stand was excellent and numerous contracts have already been signed directly at the show".
As always, PLAST 2012 was the ideal opportunity to obtain clear ideas about the market and its prospects, not only from a national but also from a global perspective. This was discussed at the well-attended congress that opened the event, for which the report presented by economist Marco Fortis served as a basis for discussion.
PLAST 2012 also proved to be the ideal place for professional updating and in-depth study of the latest technical and regulatory issues, thanks to a program of seminars and workshops held over three days, with Biolpack among the most qualified and participative moments, international congress on biodegradable polymer packaging (organized by the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Parma and by the Experimental Station for the Food Canning Industry-SSICA), and Smart Plastics in a quality agricultural sector (organized by Gruppo Sole 24 Ore Edagricole and Promaplast srl, with the presence, among others, of specialized speakers from Spain and Israel, and the participation of more than 100 operators).

Source: http://www.plastonline.org/es/node/6546