Under the requirements of the 'Plastic Restriction Order,' non-degradable plastic products are being gradually phased out, creating a vast market space for alternatives. So, how should suppliers prepare strategically to both deepen their existing operations and expand further?

The upstream and downstream sectors of the biodegradable plastics industry are actively preparing.

In the field of biodegradable plastics, companies have stated that short-term supply is tight, and price increases under supply-demand conflicts are inevitable. However, driven by both demand and profit, many companies are actively preparing, with major firms competing to expand production capacity. At the same time, downstream companies have begun intensive preparations, with many modification and plastic processing enterprises approaching material suppliers for testing. In terms of end products, driven by policy, the market predicts that many new companies producing biodegradable plastic products will emerge in the coming years. 

The paper industry is seizing the opportunity to capture a larger share of the packaging market.

In the short term, biodegradable plastics are relatively expensive and have limited production capacity, while the "Plastic Restriction Order" has promoted a new trend of replacing plastic with paper. In comparison, China's paper product production capacity is sufficient, and its performance is excellent, capable of meeting the substitution demand under the "Plastic Restriction Order." Among them, white cardboard is the most favored, widely used for high-end gift boxes, cosmetic boxes, cigarette packs, beverage packaging, paper cups, noodle bowls, fast food packaging, and paper straws.

Under the current boom, the industry exhibits a variety of trends, with paper products and biodegradable plastics becoming two of the hottest alternative products. They have experienced explosive growth, rush purchases, price increases, and capacity expansion, which have become the most common phenomena in the industry. Whether it is white cardboard or biodegradable plastics, each has its own advantages in terms of price and performance, as well as specific usage limitations. Neither can completely replace plastic products, making it impossible to fully capture the entire plastic market.

swop2021 – Helping you secure a stable position in the blue ocean under the "Plastic Restriction Order".

Swop, as an innovative platform in the packaging industry, has always been committed to creating highly efficient supply-demand matching circles for industry professionals. This year, Swop focuses on recyclability, biodegradability, and reduction, launching the 'Green Power Packaging Zone.' On the other hand, Swop also brings you numerous leading plastic machinery brands and new products, comprehensively catering to the procurement needs of the packaging industry chain and helping enterprises navigate the future blue ocean with confidence.

'Green Power Packaging Zone' – Recyclable x Biodegradable x Reduction

Packaging across various industries is simultaneously moving towards high-end intelligence, environmental friendliness, and recyclability. In response to this trend, swop 2021 will focus on launching the 'Green Power Packaging Zone,' aiming to actively promote the innovative development of the national plastic packaging industry and prominently showcase a diverse range of products:

● Bio-based biodegradable plastics: Polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), starch plastics, bio-engineered plastics, and bio-based general plastics (polyolefins and polyvinyl chloride)
● Petrochemical-based biodegradable plastics: (PHA), starch plastics, bio-engineered plastics, and bio-based general plastics (polyolefins and polyvinyl chloride)
● Degradable products: disposable meal boxes, beverage cups, cutlery, shopping bags, foam sheets, inflatable columns, etc.
● Eco-friendly biodegradable equipment: bag-making machines, film-blowing machines, injection molding machines, complete meal box production lines, pulp molding equipment, etc.
● Packaging environmental management equipment/systems

Leading Brands of Plastic Machinery Gather Together

As the industrial backbone, China’s plastic machinery sector has seen many companies expanding their business into the packaging field, including medical packaging, sanitation containers, pump heads, and more. Especially now, with China effectively controlling the pandemic and production proceeding in an orderly manner, orders from other countries are gradually shifting to China, bringing a new wave of opportunities for plastic machinery enterprises. Numerous well-known plastic packaging machinery companies such as Haitian, Hiwin, Kawada, Engel, Hutoku, and Jansen will showcase a selection of their premium equipment at SWOP.

At the same time, the plastic packaging machinery, packaging/container production, and flexible packaging sections of swop 2021 will continue to be held in Hall N1. Exhibitors including Demag, Chen Hsong, TERRY, YiYi, Ecolab, Weishida, Jinwei, Liuzhou Jingye, Taide, Jiasu, Leneng, Feida, Kesheng, and Jiade have already registered to participate!

This year, swop will focus on themes such as artificial intelligence, smart factories, printing and labeling, processing and packaging components, packaging and container production, e-commerce and logistics packaging, innovative packaging materials, packaging design, personalized packaging, packaging lightweighting, and packaging design. Targeting the entire industrial chain, it will provide innovative packaging solutions and showcase intelligent processing and packaging production lines. Concurrently, five special exhibition zones will cover all the hot topics in the packaging industry.