Chinaplas 2009 Show Report

Chinaplas 2009, The 23rd International Exhibition on Plastics and Rubber Industries took place between 18-21 May 2009 in Guangzhou, PR China. The show attracted a total of 69,298 visitors coming from 135 countries and regions, helping to sustain its status as ‘Asia's No. 1 event for the plastics and rubber industries’.

The show itself is well positioned at the centre of Chinese plastics production, with Guangdong (the province of which Guangzhou is capital) accounting for around 26% of all Chinese plastics products production in China.

At the show, the British Plastics Federation co-ordinated the British Pavilion, which was made up of 10 British companies, including… 

• Aerogen 
• EMI (UK) Ltd 
• Intercontinental Recycling Ltd 
• Meech International 
• Nextool 
• Phasa 
• Rapra Limited 
• Symphony Environmental 
• Zotefoams

More information on these companies is available HERE

Despite the global slowdown the British Pavilion was a similar size to previous shows, however the German Pavilion which was made up of 100 companies and totalled 2600 sqm was 30% smaller than Chinaplas 2007 (which was the last time the show took place in Gunagzhou).

The British Group at Chinaplas 2009

The general consensus amongst British companies was that the show was somewhat quieter than expected, with fewer visitors walking the halls than was hoped for. This was partly due to the slow down in the Chinese plastics industry but also the swine flu epidemic which meant a number of Chinese domestic visitors stayed away along with other Asian visitors.  Indeed precautions were taken at the show, with visitors having their temperatures taken between halls!

Feelings amongst Chinese exhibitors was that since March the market was beginning to pick up. This was echoed by one of the large Chinese machinery manufacturers at the show who told the BPF that the industry had been down since October but since March the business had been increasing 10% per month.  

Source: CPRJ/CPPIA

Stanley Chu the Chairman of Chinaplas 2009 stated:

‘The show is a great indicator to the stabilising economy in China and we believe the Chinaplas show has restored peoples confidence in the economy. People should remember that there is not a economic collapse every year and companies should see this time as a great opportunity to invest in the Chinese market. We have been very impressed with the visitor numbers at the Chinaplas fair.

Over the last few months we were worried about the financial crisis and how it would effect the show, however over the first two days we have had over 48,000 visitors, with 20% of them coming from overseas. China offers foreign exhibitors a vast domestic market, which is a big attraction. With 200 million mobile phones produced in China each year and huge automotive and electronic production.’

The Crowds At Chinaplas 2009

Signs are indeed strong that the economy is recovering, in January 2009 more cars were sold in China than in the US (735,000 compared to 656,976 vehicles) for the first time ever.

At the show, many companies within the British Pavilion reported great successes.  Aerogen one of the exhibitors with the British Group, received an order from Young Man Automotive (Lotus’s Chinese partner) for a flame treating system. Rapra Limited also received a lot of attention from rubber and plastics companies in China, with a large number of companies expressing great interest in the technical service they offer. ‘We see Chinaplas as a great opportunity to promote ourselves, so far we know a lot of the Chinese companies are interested not only in our technical and information services but also because they want to expand into new markets in Europe and America’ commented Rapra Limited’s Ivy Lue.