In spring 2009, the European plastics industry will have an additional date to put in its diary. Trade fair organiser Elmia (Jonköping / Sweden; www.elmia.se) plans to establish a new national meeting place for regional companies at Jonköping, in southern Sweden. The show will be called "Elmia Polymer", and support has already been promised by industry organisations such as the Swedish plastics industry association, SPIF (www.plastindustri.org) and the federation of Swedish machinery suppliers, PMG.

Project manager Johan Ingemansson said he hopes the new fair will provide a fresh business impetus for Scandinavian companies in parallel with international fairs. Elmia has signed a cooperation agreement for the project with P.E. Schall (Frickenhausen / Germany; www.schall-messen.de), organiser of the injection moulding exhibition "Fakuma". The Swedish fair group already has experience with plastics through its exhibition for suppliers of other industries, "Elmia Subcontractor". This is billed as the biggest show of its kind in northern Europe. More than 150 of the nearly 1,200 exhibitors who attend every year are involved in plastics and rubber processing.