The Italian Trade Agency Office in Mexico City hands out the Italian Plastic Technology Award and the Italian Packaging Technology Award. The project aims to create a link between graduates and undergraduates in engineering programs at leading Mexican universities, and to increase their awareness of leading technology and solutions available in Italian plastics and packaging machinery. Each award had been organized alongside its respective Italian industry association: ASSOCOMAPLAST (the Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Association, www.assocomaplast

Assocomaplast, the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers’ association, and Machines Italia Mexico will be organizing an Italian pavilion at the upcoming PLASTIMAGEN MEXICO – Latin America’s largest plastic industry trade show that is taking place in Mexico City, from March 8 to 11, 2016. For additional information on the Italian company exhibiting at the show please contact please contact mexico [at] machinesitalia.org

The statistical analysis performed by Assocomaplast (Italian trade association, part of CONFINDUSTRIA, representing over 160 companies) on foreign trade data provided by ISTAT regarding the first six months of this year , reveals – in comparison to January-June 2014 – a markedly positive performance for Italy's exports and imports of plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds. The growth recorded since the first months of 2014 has continued this year and actually has increased: by the end of June 2015, the rise in purchases from abroad approached 17%. This provides further reassurance

The annual members assembly of ASSOCOMAPLAST – the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together over 160 makers of machinery, moulds and equip-ment for plastics and rubber – was held on Friday, 19 June at the Science and Technology Mu-seum in Milan. The assembly elected a new President for the two-year term 2015-2017: Alessandro Grassi, managing director of Frigosystem srl, who in turn named Andrea Franceschetti, international sales director for Gefran spa, as Vice President of the association. The members assembly was followed by the public Assocomaplast

ASSOCOMAPLAST, tthe Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together some 165 makers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber, has produced its 2013 full-year forecast for the industry on the basis of foreign trade data for the first nine months of the year provided by ISTAT, Italy's National Institute of Statistics. The slight dip in exports (-2.8% with respect to January-September 2012) could be recovered in the fourth quarter thanks to the expected economic recovery, early signals of which have been noted recently by the CONFINDUSTRIA Research

During a recent exclusive interview with Dr. Giorgio Colombo, President of Italy's ASSOCOMAPLAST, the national association for plastics and rubber processing machinery and mold manufacturers' association, he shared his thoughts and insights on the industry's transitional period experienced in 2013, current and future challenges faced by manufacturers and a clear outlook for 2014. President, do you feel that 2013 may be considered a year with more light or more shadow for the Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry? I think that 2013 is a year of transition after strong growth in 2011

On 6 June 2013, at Verdellino-Zingonia, CESAP hosted the annual meeting of Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association belonging to Confindustria, which groups together some 160 manufacturers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber). The association's president, Giorgio Colombo, opened his presentation by confirming the dates of the upcoming PLAST trade show, which is organised by Promaplast srl, Assocomaplast's commercial company, and will be held in Milan May 5-9 2015. This means that the three-yearly international plastics and rubber industry event will be opening its