They will showcase the power of three essential sectors with the presence of more than 600 brands
Expoquimia, Equiplast and Eurosurfas will showcase the commitment to sustainability and innovation
Leading companies from three sectors that have proved to be essential during the pandemic will meet at another Expoquimia, Equiplast and Eurosurfas event to display the innovations in their products and processes that they have developed with the aim of contributing to sustainable development. Organised by Fira de Barcelona, the fairs will take place in person from 14th to 17th September at the Gran Via venue with the participation of more than 350 exhibitors representing around 600 brands at an event designed to promote business opportunities that’s been adapted in terms of volume and size to the current context.
Thus, with 300 brands, the 19th Expoquimia, the International Chemistry Event, will bring together a significant number of representatives from the Spanish chemical sector, one of the most dynamic elements of the Spanish economy. With the support of FEIQUE, the Business Federation of the Spanish Chemical Industry, the fair will present the sector’s contribution to the United Nations’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). In this regard, companies and entities such as AEQT, Air Liquide, BASF, Bondalti, Carburos Metálicos, Cepsa, ChemMed Tarragona, Covestro, Ercros, Grupo IQE, Inovyn, Panreac AppliChem, Quimacova, Quimidroga and Solutex will attend the Smart Chemistry Smart Future space. It will receive the collaboration of companies and entities such as Ainia, the CDTI (Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology), Inprocess and Siemens, and the institutional support of ChemSpain, Foro Química y Sociedad, Forética and Suschem España.
In this respect, the fair will give particular prominence to new materials such as frontier materials, critical raw materials, green chemistry and biotechnology with the Mat 20-30 and Expoquimia BIO spaces, where solutions for a more sustainable and safer chemistry will be on display, and the sector will be offered an area to encourage cooperation with each other by means of a partnership programme.
Carles Navarro, the president of Expoquimia, pointed out that “the pandemic has demonstrated that the chemical sector is vital” and added that “it will be essential for guaranteeing the development of key technologies to achieve the goals of decarbonisation and the circular economy”. Navarro also declared that “chemistry is essential if we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure their fulfilment by 2030”.
According to FEIQUE, the chemical sector ended 2020 with the best performance of the entire Spanish productive economy, with a slight 0.4% downturn in production, and it expects to register 7.1% growth in 2021 and achieve a result totalling 69.1 billion euros. With nearly 210,000 direct jobs and 711,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, the 3,000-plus companies in the national chemical sector employ 3.7% of the working population in Spain.
A recycling plant to scale
With more than 200 brands, the 19th Equiplast, the International Plastics and Rubber Event, will showcase the solutions developed by the sector to promote the circular economy with the aim of minimising its environmental impact. In this regard, for the first time Equiplast will recreate a recycling plant to scale called Reciplast to demonstrate how there are currently reliable systems for the recovery of plastics. It will also feature Rethinking Plastics, a unique exhibition of products made from 100% recycled plastic from renewable and biodegradable sources.
In addition, the 27th Eurosurfas, the International Surface Treatment Event, set to feature around 80 brands, will present the latest breakthroughs, particularly in the field of functional surfaces, allowing certain properties such as antioxidants and water repellents to be added to the final finish of all kinds of products.
Equiplast president Bernd Roegele believes that “recycling and the circular economy are demonstrating the opportunities and the path towards sustainability of a material such as plastic, which is really important in basic sectors for society such as health, industry and technology”.
As for Giampiero Cortinovis, the president of Eurosurfas, he stated that “the sector is committed to innovation so as to pollute less and, at the same time, become more competitive and efficient, in a difficult period with the concentration of companies in this industry”.
Business opportunities and seminars
In addition to the range of exhibitions, the three events will facilitate the development of new business opportunities for the exhibitors, which is why, in cooperation with the AMEC (Association of Internationalised Industrial Companies), among others, there will be an international VIP Buyers programme to encourage the participation, in person and online, of potential buyers from different countries in Europe, Latin America and North Africa.
Moreover, the Catalan Government’s Acció agency and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism are collaborating in the organisation of the TechTransfer area, at which different European projects will be presented and presentations will be made, while there will also be a marketplace attended by prestigious technological centres to bring science into contact with the industrial fabric.
Similarly, the fairs will offer professional visitors the chance to find out more about the exhibitors’ new products by means of eight guided tours based on their sectoral interests and common thematic axes, namely the circular economy, technology transfer and the digital transformation.
All three fairs will also have their congress-related activity. Following the success of Unprecedented, the online sessions held over the last year and a half, Expoquimia, Eurosurfas and Equiplast will offer different training courses, interactive areas, sectoral seminars and speeches by prominent experts in the field of the circular economy and the digital transformation. The Eurosurfas Eurocar congress, the Expoquimia R&D&I Awards and Equiplast-Shaping the Future will complement this year’s offer.
The Mediterranean’s largest applied chemistry event
The joint celebration of these three events organised by Fira de Barcelona, which are held every three years and are set to take place in Hall 3 of the Gran Vía venue, together with an area devoted to Industry 4.0 and Digital X.0 Experience, promoted by Industry from Needs to Solutions, and a seminar on zoonoses and their consequences at Healthio Research Day, the health event organised by Healthio, make up the largest trade fair event for applied chemistry in the Mediterranean.
In order to guarantee the safety of the suppliers, exhibitors and visitors, these fares will apply the COVID-19 prevention and safety protocol developed by Fira de Barcelona following the advice of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.