Plast 2026, scheduled at Fiera Milano on 9-12 June 2026, will be part of The Innovation Alliance, a project bringing together Italy's leading trade fairs for machinery and equipment for the processing industry. The initiative links events representing plastics and rubber processing technologies, printing, converting, packaging and intralogistics. According to the organisers, this is not a single joint event, but a structured industrial alliance, renewed at successive editions of the individual trade fairs and intended to present the entire production chain. In this framework, each event retains its own identity while also contributing to a shared vision of strengthening the international position of Italy's machinery sector. According to the data cited by the organisers, sourced from Amaplast, Ucima, Acimga and Anima, the combined value of this sector reached EUR 26 billion in 2025, employment exceeded 93,000 people, and the average export share in turnover amounted to 64%. In the case of plastics and rubber processing machinery, this figure reached 78%.
The Innovation Alliance includes the trade fairs Plast, PRINT4ALL, IPACK-IMA, Greenplast and Intralogistica Italia. The project's schedule has been laid out over the coming years. Following Plast, which will take place in Milan from 9 to 12 June 2026, PRINT4ALL is scheduled for 25-28 May 2027. Then, from 29 May to 1 June 2028, IPACK-IMA, Greenplast and Intralogistica Italia are to be held in parallel. The thematic scope of these events covers, respectively, printing, converting and finishing, materials and technologies for food and non-food processing and packaging, solutions for plastics and rubber processing focused on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, as well as systems for industrial handling, warehouse management, storage, sorting and lifting of materials.
Project for the entire technology chain
The organisers indicate that The Innovation Alliance is intended to present a complete industrial ecosystem, from plastics and rubber processing technology, through packaging, printing and converting, to logistics. This format is meant to support the promotion of Italy's machinery sector, which generates a significant share of its revenue on foreign markets. The release also underlines that capital goods machinery remains one of the pillars of Italian manufacturing. Its strength is said to be a constant drive for innovation, resulting from intensive research and development carried out by Italian small and medium-sized enterprises. In the organisers' view, the project is intended not only to present technologies, but also to serve as a space for dialogue and strategy building in a demanding market environment.
Plast 2026 and the scope of the event
Plast 2026 will be the twentieth edition of the trade fair. The event will occupy six halls, and more than 1,000 exhibitors are expected to take part, with foreign companies accounting for 45% of the total. The organisers point out that this level of international participation is of particular importance in a complex market environment. Together with its accompanying shows, Rubber, 3D Plast and PlastMat, the fair is intended to form the most comprehensive European industry event of the year for the plastics and rubber sector.
According to the announcement, Plast 2026 will place particular focus on sustainability, artificial intelligence and the digitalisation of production processes. The organisers indicate that innovations, industry dialogue and business contacts at the fair are expected to centre on these topics.
