InterPlas Thailand 2019, or the 28th edition of ASEAN’s Most Comprehensive Exhibition on Machinery, Technology, Chemicals, and Raw Materials for Plastics Manufacturing, is a gathering hub for 17,000+ quality buyers from many industry sectors related to plastics manufacturing. Optimism ranks high among many industry players that this exhibition will continue to provide visitors with the latest trends in plastics manufacturing. This year, the exhibition is taking a major leap as it drives Thai industries into the future of smart manufacturing.
At the opening ceremony of the Manufacturing Expo, of which InterPlas Thailand is a concurrent exhibition, Mr. Suttisak Wilanan, Deputy Managing Director of Reed Tradex, mentioned that the role of the whole exhibition is to complement the Thai government’s efforts in driving the 10 target industries toward a successful future. The target industries include advanced automotive industry, intelligent electronics, robotics, and digital industries, all of which will benefit from Manufacturing Expo. The event consists of 5 international events serving specific sectors; i.e. InterPlas Thailand for plastics and packaging manufacturing; InterMold Thailand for mold making; Automotive Manufacturing for automotive parts manufacturing, Assembly and Automation Technology showcasing robots and industrial automation; and Surface and Coatings for industrial parts. The events are co-located by NEPCON Thailand for electronics manufacturing and Mfair, a matchmaking platforms for Japanes and Asian parts manufacturers and buyers.
Dr. Pasu Loharjun, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Industry, who chaired the events’ opening ceremony, gave a keynote speech on “Smart Mobility Driving Tomorrow’s Society.”
A major highlight of the Manufacturing Expo is the holding of the “Automotive Summit 2019,” an annual conference for automotive parts manufacturers, organized to support the government’s New S-Curve industries; namely auto parts, electronics parts, robotics, aerospace, medical devices, and food (packaging) in their journey toward Industry 4.0.
Mr. Adisak Rohitasune, Member of the Board of Directors and Acting President of Thailand Automotive Institute revealed that the automotive industry is going through a period of change from the combustion engine to the hybrid and electric engine. Thai entrepreneurs are adapting their machinery and technology to support the coming demand, which is a good sign. Import data shows that import of machinery and parts in the first quarter of this year is valued at 182,000 million baht, a 5-percent growth over the same period of last year. Moreover, electric vehicle is one of the 10 S-Curve industries which the government is driving growth for. Hence, the government is facilitating the changes and the growths through its investment promotion policy. The plan is to provide standards for new era automobile parts including building ASEAN’s first Test Center for Electric Automobile Battery which will begin operation next year.
Mr. Adisuk Rohitasune, Member of the Board of Directors, Acting President
of Thailand Automotive Institute
Over 95,000 participants are expected to meet 2,400 brands of technologies and solutions from 46 countries as well as the biggest gathering of robots and automation systems in the region at Manufacturing Expo. They will also be inspired by new ideas and opportunities in special features such as Robotics Cluster Pavilion, which will launch Industrial Transformation Platform (ITP), a digital platform, powered by Ministry of Industry, which links industrialists together with financial institutes and System Integrators (SI). Business interactions happening from the show are expected to be worth at 8 billion baht.