Expoquimia and Equiplast 2023 closed their doors at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue with very positive feelings, demonstrating the dynamism of the chemical and plastics industries and their firm commitment to sustainability. This year’s edition marks a turning point to promote sectoral cohesion with which to tackle the green and digital transformation of two essential sectors.
After four days of intense activity, the participating companies have highlighted the optimistic atmosphere in which the fairs have taken place, as well as the quality of the business contacts made. The leading events in Spain for chemicals and plastics organised by Fira de Barcelona have met expectations, with 590 direct exhibitors, more than 1,500 brands represented, and 18,882 attendees.
According to the president of the Expoquimia Organising Committee, Carles Navarro, "the show has demonstrated the dynamism of the chemical industry, bringing about interesting business contacts and providing knowledge on issues relevant to our future as a sector". Navarro stressed the need to "unite and strengthen the industry in order to tackle its transformation and improve its competitiveness at European level".
For his part, the president of the Equiplast Organising Committee, Bernd Roegele, gave a very positive assessment of the development of the fair: "with one of the best exhibition offers in recent years with machinery and technology in operation to manufacture, transform and recycle plastic in order to accelerate its circularity". Roegele highlighted the "good turnout of professionals who have generated new business opportunities and boosted projects and operations for the sector".
Circularity and digitalisation
The more than 100 knowledge and networking activities that took place were well attended, confirming the success of the chosen themes and the focus on the circular economy, digitalisation and technology transfer as the main levers that will guarantee a sustainable future for industries.
Among this year’s activities, the "Industry Showcase" knowledge space stood out, where success stories and the experiences of companies using chemical and plastic solutions were presented. Along the same lines, the "Best in class" awards given by the show to H2Site, Inditex, Repsol and Fuelium as examples of the application of chemical innovation in different sectors were also outstanding. Feique’s "Smart Chemistry Smart Future" forum also featured the projects of leading companies to respond to the challenges of the European green pact.
Finally, as a major sectoral event, the Expoquimia Gala Dinner was attended by more than 600 people, including the main executives of the sector’s companies and organisations, which served to highlight the power of a transversal industry that claims to be essential to catalyse the transformation of production processes in a sustainable way.
The next editions of Expoquimia and Equiplast will be held in June 2026 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre.
