Asia Pacific Rubber & Plastics Expo (RubberPlas) is the only dedicated trade fair in Vietnam that simultaneously covers natural and synthetic rubber, recycled rubber, all families of thermoplastics, moulds, dies, compounding additives, testing equipment and downstream processing machinery. Scheduled for 18-20 September 2024 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, the 2024 edition will occupy 10,000 sqm of indoor space and expects 250 exhibitors from 18 countries and 7,000 professional visitors. The show is organised by the Vietnam Plastics Association, Ministry of Industry & Trade, and Chan Chao International, with the full support of the European Plastics Converters association, the Indian Plastics Institute, and the Thai and Malaysian plastics federations. RubberPlas is deliberately co-located with the concurrently held VietnamPlas and VietFood to create a single mega-platform for materials handling, packaging and processing professionals.

The three-day programme is structured along five thematic zones: Rubber Raw Materials & Latex Products, Automotive & Tyre Solutions, Green Compounds & Recyclates, Auxiliary & Testing Equipment, and Injection, Extrusion and Blow Moulding Machinery. A high-level opening conference on 18 September will bring together Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Vice-Minister of Industry & Trade, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Diep, Chairman of the Vietnam Rubber Association, and Dr. Martin Baumert, Managing Director of Kraiburg TPE, to debate Vietnam’s role in the global rubber and plastics supply chain. Technical symposia run parallel to the exhibition: the Rubber Processing & Sustainability Forum reviews advances in devulcanisation, bio-fillers and carbon-black alternatives; the Plastics Recycling & Circular Economy Seminar presents case studies on chemical recycling, rPET bottle-to-bottle loops and EPR implementation in ASEAN; the Automotive Lightweight Materials Conference compares TPV, long-fibre thermoplastic and micro-cellular rubber solutions for EV weight reduction; and the Smart Factory Workshop demonstrates live connectivity between auxiliary equipment, MES and cloud analytics. Daily live demonstrations on the show floor include injection of liquid silicone over-moulds, twin-screw compounding of recycled ocean plastics, and continuous ultrasonic devulcanisation of truck-tyre crumb. A Start-up Pavilion spotlights Vietnamese companies offering bio-degradable straws from cassava starch, natural rubber gloves from guayule, and 3D