Interplas UK 2026, the UK plastics industry trade fair held every three years, will take place on 2–4 June at the NEC Birmingham. According to the organisers, the event will bring together more than 500 exhibitors and will be the largest gathering of the UK plastics industry in three years. The triennial format gives each edition particular significance, especially during a period of rapid technological change, growing regulatory requirements and accelerating sustainability targets.
Visitors are expected to gain access to the full plastics sector supply chain in one location. The announced exhibitors include Arburg, Engel, KraussMaffei, Boy, Motan Colortronic, Summit Systems, BMB, Bole, Sepro, Haitian, Borche, Sumitomo, Piovan, Ward Polymers, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Biesterfeld Petroplas, Hi Tech Automation and Wittmann Battenfeld. The exhibition is to be complemented by live demonstrations and product launches held throughout the three days of the trade fair. The range on display will cover machinery, materials, automation, tooling and recycling technologies.
Carpet Creates project at the trade fair
One of the highlighted elements of Interplas UK 2026 is expected to be the presence of the Future Makers team, winner of the David Williams Award 2025 presented by the British Plastics Federation and the Worshipful Company of Horners. The team will showcase furniture created as part of the Carpet Creates project, which is based on converting used event carpeting into new functional products.
The trade fair programme will also include a presentation by Future Makers co-founder Tristan Hessing entitled “From event carpet to award-winning furniture: the circular economy in practice”. The presentation is expected to address the challenges and opportunities related to implementing circular economy principles in industries handling large material volumes, such as the events sector. According to the announcement, the topics will include material recovery, granulation, pilot pelletising and thermoforming as elements of closed-loop design.
Interplas Insights conference programme
A free Interplas Insights conference programme will take place alongside the exhibition. The organisers have divided it into three main thematic areas intended to reflect the industry's development directions over the coming decade.
The first block will be devoted to artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing. Speakers in this section are expected to include Paul Byrnes of Mavarick, who will discuss the use of AI for risk management in the plastics value chain, and David Raine of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, whose presentation will address the practical aspects of and outlook for turnkey solutions.
The second block covers skills and workforce development. Scheduled presentations include Richard Brown of Sierra 75 on polymer training and employee operational capabilities, and Amy Stanier of Ravago, who is set to present the case for a new approach to educating plastics specialists.
The third block will focus on sustainability, recycling and the circular economy. The programme includes Robin Kent of Tangram Technology, who is expected to speak about avoiding greenwashing, Jorunn Nilsen of Norner AS with a presentation on the safety aspects of HDPE recyclate in contact-sensitive applications, as well as Steve Morgan of Recoup, who will present development pathways for plastics circularity in the UK.
PlastikCity Pavilion
The PlastikCity Pavilion zone will also return to the trade fair and is intended to serve as a shared space for UK industry suppliers. According to the organisers, the zone is designed to support supplier sourcing, business networking and market reconnaissance, particularly from the perspective of procurement departments and engineering teams seeking new partners and looking to consolidate supplier discussions in one place.
According to the organisers, Interplas UK 2026 is expected to provide a cross-sectional view of the UK plastics industry supply chain and show how the technologies and solutions available for processing have changed over the past three years.
