Tehran Times - After four busy days, the 13th edition of Iran’s International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery and Equipment (IRAN PLAST 2019) was finally wrapped up on Wednesday.


As one of the largest and most important exhibitions in the Middle East region and Asia, in the fields of raw materials, machinery, auxiliaries and services for plastics & rubber industries, Iran Plast is a showcase for presenting Iranian petrochemical industry’s capacities, capabilities and advances in recent years.

Although, like every year, this edition of the exhibition also hosted several foreign companies and exhibitors from various countries, but the main theme of the event was a little different from the previous editions.

This year the exhibition’s slogan was “supporting domestic production” and one could see the manifestation of this goal in every corner of the exhibit.

While touring the exhibition, the number of Iranian companies attending, and great variety of the products and services presented, absolutely amazed me.

Another aspect of the exhibition which was eye-catching for me, was the significant presence of knowledge-based companies with several innovative solutions and products such as Nono-size polymers and fibers, as well as Iranian-made machinery and facilities which could help the industry in great ways.

In my visit to the exhibition, I managed to talk to some of the exhibitors to be a part of their Iran Plast experience. What comes below is a short selection of those interviews.

Still an attractive market

Fabrizio Vanzen, a representative of Italian Astics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers Association, believed that despite the U.S. sanctions Iran is still an attractive market for European companies especially in Italy, however various problems including banking and financial issues are preventing them from being more active in the Iranian market.

Vanzen further mentioned some of the association’s activities and its presence in Iran Plast, saying “We represent 160 Italian companies which are active in the field of manufacturing rubber and plastics processing machinery. We have attended Iran Plast since the very beginning, so we didn’t want to miss out this edition too.”

“For the first two days, the exhibition was quite good and I think it was even on a higher level than expectations,” he added.

Mentioning the significant presence of Iranian companies in the exhibition, Vanzen said: “It is very obvious that Iranian companies’ interest in new technologies has grown and they do value new platforms which can help them boost their productivity.”

“It is clearly a shame that these political constraints [U.S. sanctions] are preventing more businesses from flourishing as it used to be in the past before the sanctions.”

“Of course we didn’t want to abandon our Iranian partners in this difficult time, so we wanted to show a sign of our attendance to let them know that we would be always be available to be involved in any trade transaction with our Iranian partners”, he added.

A very safe market for investment

Eric Wang, the sales manager of Jiangsu Sanyang Textile Machine Company, which is a company active in the field of manufacturing and promoting textile production lines in China, said he found Iran to be a very lucrative and safe market for investment.

It was Wang’s second time in Iran Plast exhibition, he believed that Iran Plast was one of the biggest exhibitions in this industry and he expressed hope to attend the exhibition in the years to come.

Asked about the impact of the U.S. sanctions on their approach toward the Iranian market, Wang said “It’s OK, we don’t care about the Americans, we need to make money, and Americans don’t feed us.”

He noted that this year, more than 25 Chinese companies active in a variety of fields were attending the exhibition.

“Some people might think Iran is not a safe market for investment, I thought so too, but after coming to this exhibition, I have found it to be a very safe and lucrative market despite all the political restraints,” he added.

An exhibition beyond expectations

Ending my exhibition tour, I met Anil Kalia from KLJ India Company, a manufacturer of polymer and plasticizers based in New Delhi.

It was his first time attending Iran Plast and also his first time in Iran. When asked about the exhibition, he said “It is very great, it was beyond our expectations, and it was also very nicely organized.”

He noted that his company has had some positive negotiations with Iranian companies.

“We’ve had some really good meetings and we are looking forward for doing business in Iran.”

Asked about the impact of U.S. sanctions on their activities in Iran, Kalia said, “Between India and Iran, the companies can use national currencies for business, so there would be no problem in that regard.”