PLAST 2026, Europe’s premier trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries, is set for its 20th edition on June 9-12 at Milan, Italy.

Preheat press event held by PLAST organizer Promaplast.

As a preheat event, the fair organizer Promaplast, has invited more than 20 international media companies to a press tour in Italy to give a sneak peek of PLAST 2026 and visit to three Italian plastic machinery and processing equipment suppliers.

As the only Chinese media, Adsale Plastics Network will bring you some insights of the upcoming PLAST 2026, as well as innovations from Italian machinery and equipment suppliers.

PLAST 2026: A global stage for plastics and rubber industries

This edition has already confirmed the participation of 800 exhibitors, and will expect visitors from 120 countries. Over 160 new exhibitors to date compared to the previous 2023 edition, of which 30% are represented by international companies. The number of Chinese exhibitors has also increased by 10-15%.

Following the success of PLAST 2023, this year’s edition will reaffirm its role in the plastics and rubber supply chain.

The fair also aims to significantly increase the presence of international visitors with representatives from the main destination countries for Italian exports, thanks to buyer delegations organized in collaboration with ICE Agency and strategic agreements with important trade associations, both within the sector and representative of target markets.

Same as the previous edition, three specialized satellite shows – 3D PLAST, PLAST MAT, and RUBBER – will once again highlight key areas of excellence. PLAST 2026 will also take place alongside XYLEXPO, the biennial exhibition for woodworking technology and furniture industry, and COMPOSITES FUTURE, a new trade fair and conference for composites sector.

Strong market potential of “Made in Europe”

The "Made in Europe" machinery segment is characterized by a strong export orientation, including towards emerging markets with growing investment propensity, and maintains a strategic role in the global scenario.

In the period of January-September 2024/25, despite exports dropped 6% due to complex geopolitical context, exports to certain countries reflected positive performance.

In general, exports to major geographical areas experienced a drop, including Europe (52.4%, -7%), North America/USMCA (16.2%, -13%), Center/South America (6.1%, -12%), and Africa (5.7%, -20.5%), while Asia/Oceania account for 19.6% of exports, an increase of 8.7%.

For the exports shares by destination, major markets, including India, China, Egypt, Nigeria, Argentina, and Chile, have a rise in exports.

Innovation and technology under spotlight

PLAST 2026 promises an exclusive showcase of most advanced plastics and rubber solutions to visitors, responding the growing requirements in terms of technological innovation and environmental sustainability in the industries.

Bandera: New Coating & Laminating business and AI roadmap

At PLAST 2026, Italian company Bandera will show solutions in its new Coating and Laminating business unit, water-soluble PVOH/PVA film, vacuum film with 100% PA, flat-die membranes and geomembranes, and technical ABS, PMMA and PC sheets.

The press tour includes a visit to Bandera.

Bandera’s new Coating and Laminating business highlights ALPHACOAT line, which is ideal for liquid packaging, aseptic packaging, paper disposable products and packaging, aluminum packaging, and film packaging.

Massimo Santini (left), Chief Sales Officer of Bandera, and Riccardo Bandera, CEO of ANY MA, has introduced the latest development of Bandera and AI roadmap.

Another highlight from Bandera is the line supervision tool ANY MA system, which is 100% developed by ANY MA company, part of Bandera. This intelligent and modular system manages entire machine and peripherals, optimizes plant automation, introduces innovative features. Features of ANY MA system include smart interface, recipes & reports, advanced supervision, total integration, and more.

At the press event, the company also introduced its AI roadmap, which includes three phases.

Phase 1: Infallible Inspector

This phase eliminates human error with artificial intelligence acts as a vigilant quality control guardian. Specialized cameras are strategically positioned at the winder and images are captured and passed to the AI in real-time, detecting anomalies instantly and ensuring uncompromised oversight.

Phase 2: Intelligent Assistant

The system in this phase evolves from simple detection to deep understanding. It identifies exactly why a defect occurred, correlates the defect with active machine data, and provides specific parameters to operators to adjust plant setup.

Phase 3: Autonomous Perfection

The phase aims on self-adjusting machine that closes the loop to ensure zero-waste production without human intervention. The machine continuously detects any process defect, instantaneously diagnoses underlying cause, and autonomously adjusts parameters to correct the process.

Bandera is also planning on a Digital Evolution plan in 2026, including implementation of new Spare Parts Software, 2D/3D exploded views available online, easier and more accurate spare parts identification for customers, and direct requests through digital platform. This evolution allows higher efficiency, faster response, and improved customer experience.