PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 11/23 www.petpla.net 33 TRADE SHOW REVIEW 21st GSI PET Day 2023 The Villa Medici near Florence, Italy, is in the polyester world primarily known for the annual PET Days held there, organised by GSI for 21 years now. After a pandemic-induced shift to a digital format, customers and suppliers, top managers and purchasers, polyester experts, and economists were able to meet in person again this September, just in time to celebrate GSI’s 30th anniversary. Mr Francesco Zanchi, CEO of GSI, was very touched when he opened the day, stressing how pleased he was to feel once again the presence of many business partners - especially since this year’s event marked the 30th anniversary of the company he founded in 1993. On the occasion of this anniversary, he introduced his entire team of employees, as well as some of the newcomers to GSI, as with them the company’s workforce reached the “magic” number of 30 just in time for this celebration. Mr Zanchi welcomed the selected audience, who received the prestigious invitation – this year 116 attendees from almost 30 countries – underlining the difficulties that the industry is facing, but also claiming that those same difficulties can be transformed into opportunities. The end of ‘business as usual’ The first lecture was presented by a PET Day`s “regular”: Paul Hodges, of New Normal Consulting. He began by underlining the great shifts which are moving demand patterns: First, from global to local is becoming the trend, and it requires a reshaping of the supply chains, a refocusing of fiscal policies, and employing renewable energy. This marks the end of the ‘business as usual’ approach as predicted few years ago, he stated. China, he said, is central to this change: The Chinese were forced to make significant changes to their policies; it can no longer afford to repeat what was done in the past; that will no longer work today. Risks are multiplying, corporate earnings are falling, the world of plastic is in overcapacity, and the once booming real estate sector is in crisis. All these factors are bringing higher volatility globally. It is now increasingly urgent to move, in China and elsewhere, to a ‘replacement economy’, Paul Hodges pointed out. As populations are getting older, particularly in the West, or having less money available to spend on consumer goods, we cannot continue to produce, sell and throw away, he said. There must be a product life cycle. The major economies have to renew, recycle, and reduce carbon emissions, in the energy sector, as every other manufacturing sector. Covid, inflation, the grain crisis, the war in Ukraine, these ‘four horsemen’ as Hodges put it in his presentation in 2022, are still around, and driving us into a corner. He stated, the people working in the plastic industry must move swiftly and immediately find, together, a form of agreement, globally and locally, on how to dramatically accelerate all plastic waste recovery. The picture is hard to digest, but the speech ended in the positive assessment that, historically, mankind has a strong instinct to adapt and find unexpected strengths to get through the toughest and direst of times. Slow-down in global economy Mr Hemant Sharma, Reliance, reviewed the impact on trade in the world economy and particularly on the polyester chain in a second presentation. After the recovery seen in the post-Covid year, there is a general slow-down impacting the industry in 2023. There are no new investments foreseen in PX, there is a great overcapacity in PTA which is still growing, thanks to new technologies. But on the other hand, Sharma said, we are focusing on recycling as the priority for the global polyester industry. PET is the most recycled material, both in India and elsewhere. The situation in the Asian subcontinent is definitely improving and very quickly. New recycling capacities will be in place The GSI team members on stage Mr Francesco Zanchi, CEO of GSI, opening the 21st PET Day
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