Indian Plastics Federation organised the 8th International Exhibition On Plastics, Indplas’18 from 30th November -3rd December, 2018 at Eco Park Exhibition Ground, Kolkata. The focus of the exhibition is on the developments of the plastic industry in Eastern region of India. The exhibition is a triennial event and covered an area of 50000 sq mt. this year.
The total plastic consumption in India is around 15 million tonnes and is expected to go up to 25 million tonnes in the next seven years. India’s plastics exports posted a growth of 31.6% at USD 4.59 billion during the period Apr 18-Sep 18 (H1 2018-19) as against USD 3.48 billion in same period during H1 2017-18. The Indian plastics industry offers excellent potential in terms of capacity,
infrastructure and skilled manpower. It is supported by a large number of polymer producers, and plastic process machinery and mould manufacturers in the country.
Indian Plastic Federation was established in 1958 and is dedicated towards the development and growth of the Plastic Industry in India. The Federation has around 1000 members as of now. President, Indian Plastics Federation, Alok Tibrewala said “For the past few years it has been adding an investment of approximately Rs 500 crore year-on-year which is expected to further grow by another 25 per cent y-o-y for the next five years.” He also mentioned that the plastic industry is the most vibrant industry and the biggest employment generator in the MSME sector in Eastern India. Lateral growth in related industries such as cement sector, food processing, cold storage and handling, infrastructure and housing, agriculture, water management and retailing are acting as drivers for the growth in the Eastern region. Another major reason behind the growth in the region is the easy availability of raw material from Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., Brahmaputra Gas & Crackers Ltd. and upcoming Indian Oil Corporation Ltd petrochemical plant at Paradip, Odisha.
The exhibition was supported by Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, ASSOCHAM, FICCI, India Chamber of Commerce and Plastindia Foundation. Elkos Pens Ltd. was the silver sponsor for the event. More than 425 domestic and international exhibitors showcased raw material, polymers & resins, intermediates, blends & alloys, plastics processing machine, ancillary equipment and instrumentation., printing and packaging, finished plastics products, mould & dies, etc. The participants were from 8 countries. The visitors at the exhibition were from all over India, specially from Eastern and North Eastern Indian States like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and from neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. The last edition of Indplas was held in 2015 and covered exhibition space of 40000 sqmt.. There were 288 exhibitors who participated in the expo, out of these 46 were from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hongkong.
The plastic processing industry has the potential to contribute in bringing foreign investments and thus India’s vision of becoming a manufacturing hub. The country is set to have 18 plastic parks with an investment of Rs. 400 crore from the government to boost domestic production of plastics.
