The national companies made a positive balance of their participation in the 'Injection Molding & Design Expo' fair that took place on May 25 and 26, in Detroit (USA). Four companies accompanied CEFAMOL in this fair - Mold World, Moldoplastico, Moliporex and Socem The action was part of the 'Engineering & Tooling from Portugal' project, supported by Compete 2020.

Since this is the first edition of this fair, the participants knew that the challenge would be greater due to the lack of regularity and "tradition" in its realization, says Patrício Tavares, from CEFAMOL, which accompanied the national companies, stating that, in the end, they made a positive balance of the participation. "This is intended to be a show for the suppliers of the plastic injection industry, with a major focus on the automotive industry. In this geographical area of Detroit, most plastic injection molding companies work for this sector," he explains, adding that the target audience of the fair was "the OEMs in that area and their suppliers.

The number of visitors, despite being a new trade show, was, in his opinion, "quite interesting". And, he admits, "if the fair continues, and it is expected to continue, it may start to attract more visitors and participants, gaining more interest and notoriety".

In the case of the national mold companies, he adds, "they made some contacts with new companies and with whom they had never interacted before. And that was very positive. There were also some cases of reestablishing contacts with some other companies with whom they had already done so in the past". Regarding the Detroit region, he also explains that "geographically, it is interesting for the amount of plastics companies and OEMs present. At the fair, he points out, "few exhibitors were mold makers".

According to Patrício Tavares, the national companies returned with the certainty that the American market "is a good opportunity, since, due to the high import taxes to China, the industry is looking for new mold suppliers. This reinforces the competitiveness of national moulds and they can assert themselves by quality and service. Besides, the exchange rate of the euro and dollar has been practically unchanged".

The presence in this fair was part of a larger action of concerted approach to the US market. In this scope, the next one is the participation in the 'Plastec South' fair, which takes place from June 15 to 17, in Charlotte, North Carolina.