AIMPLAS, Technological Institute of Plastic, and AVEP, Valencian Association of Plastic Entrepreneurs, celebrated the great event of the industry of the plastic. In its 17th edition, the Annual Meeting of the Plastics Sector took place at Feria Valencia with the attendance of more than 200 representatives of the sector in an atmosphere marked by the optimism of a sector that consolidates its growth every year.
On this occasion, the gala was preceded by a new B2B format, as a prelude to the Made from Plastic fair that in 2017 will take place from May 30 to June 1. In this forum, about 70 companies scheduled more than 150 meetings in which they presented their capabilities and products, and where they contacted potential collaborators from the entire plastics transformation value chain. Later, Leopoldo Abadía gave a keynote address in which, as in his book The Hour of the Sensible, he explained how to face new challenges from a positive and optimistic point of view.
The plastics sector in Spain currently has more than 4.600 companies that exceed 14.700 million euros in turnover. Of this turnover, 13% corresponds to the income of a thousand companies that make up the sector in the Valencian Community.
AVEP imposed its 2016 Gold pellets on Julián Escarpa, from SP Berner Plastic Group, and Tomás Morcillo, from Industrias Tomás Morcillo, in recognition of their professionalism and support for the Valencian plastics industry. Subsequently, the Association delivered its annual Recognition Certificates to Industrias Alegre, Martínez Conesa, Plásticos Industriales de Alfarrasí, SP Berner and Weidner Ibérica for their involvement and voluntary dedication in the collective bargaining process of the Plastics Transformation Agreement of the Province of Valencia.
For his part, the president of AIMPLAS, José Luis Yusá, who has held the position since last March, highlighted two major missions: “On the one hand, add value to companies through innovation so that they can create wealth and generate employment, and on the other hand, contribute to society as a whole, developing new solutions that improve people's quality of life in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way ”.
The new president of AIMPLAS recalled that in the past year, the center participated in the development of a total of 123 projects in the hands of 227 companies through which 12,6 million euros were achieved to finance these activities of R + D + i. In addition, the center reached the number of 1.500 client companies and more than 550 associates.
At the end of his parliament, Yusá gave the former president of AIMPLAS, Jaime Pujol, a commemorative plaque for his appointment as honorary president. The Meeting continued with the delivery by AIMPLAS of an award created on its 25th anniversary to recognize the commitment of companies to innovation and that each year is awarded to companies that celebrate their 25 years as associates. In this case, the recognition corresponded to Eslava Plásticos, a company with headquarters in Quart de Poblet and Cuenca that for more than 40 years has been producing recycled plastics as well as premium and substandard raw materials.
The Meeting was closed by the Minister of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Commerce and Labor, Rafael Climent, who recognized the role of technological institutes and highlighted some data that confirm that the sector is "gaining muscle". Thus, he explained that the exports of the plastics industry grew by 25% during the first quarter of the year to reach the figure of 612 million euros.