Canadian plastics, packaging trade shows under new ownership

Canon Communications (Los Angeles, CA), parent of MPW and IMM, announced yesterday its acquisition of the Plast-Ex, Expoplast, and Packex trade shows in Canada. Canon intends to combine Plast-Ex and Packex while also rounding them out with other related shows.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Assn., which sold the two plastics shows, will remain involved in their organization. Selling the packaging event was France's Comexposium group and the Packaging Association of Canada. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

The last edition of Plast-Ex in 2007 included more than 500 exhibitors from 13 different countries and attracted more than 8000 attendees. Packex’s number of exhibitors and attendees is roughly the same. Expoplast is a regional event for Quebec and typically has had some 200 exhibitors. A Canon spokesman indicated the company intends to maintain this event but was not yet ready to announce its plans for it.

According to Mark Badger, CPIA's president and CEO, CPIA members will continue to be offered discounted exhibition space at the Plast-Ex and Expoplast shows, and will also be offered discounts on other Canon shows and media products. With the divestment, the CPIA will focus its resources even more on promoting and protecting plastics through communication, lobbying activities, and enhancement of industry competitiveness through innovation.

Canon intends to shift the Plast-Ex show, presently scheduled for May 2010, to May 10-12, 2011 at the Toronto Congress Center, where it will be co-located with Packex, plus automation, design and manufacturing, green manufacturing and processing events.
According to Canon, the purchase brings to 62 the number of tradeshows it organizes.

The co-located Plast-Ex/Packex will be the company’s first major North American trade event outside of the U.S. The company also organizes manufacturing exhibitions in Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, and China. —[email protected]