Innovation Show 2016 was held at the Fuji TSC for four days from April 19 to 22. We focused this year on inviting customers from overseas to attend. The date was changed to April in order to hold the show in the same month as Chinaplas, which was held in Shanghai, China at the end of April. English versions of a pamphlet with information on the show and a guide to the venue were also prepared. In anticipation of a greater number of visitors this year, the duration of Innovation Show was extended from the usual 3 days to 4 days. The total number of visitors over the four-day period, 777, was less than last year. However, 17 customers from 7 parts manufacturers based in Europe and Asia came to the show.
At this year's Innovation Show the exhibits were categorized by themes that focused on customer needs according to keywords such as high functionality, lightweight and compact, and modularization. Oral sessions with demonstrations, posters, and a great number of samples were prepared and presented to give customers a good picture of how Polyplastics' newest plastics materials and technical solutions can benefit their product development efforts.
Over the four-day period 4-5 seminars were also given on both plastic part configuration design and plastic molding in answer to many requests we received from customers. The large number of people attending each of the seminars exceeded the capacity of the seminar venues.
Our efforts were well rewarded. The questionnaire survey we conducted revealed that 97% of the customers who responded were satisfied with Innovation Show. Just as last year, visitors expressed a high level of interest in bonding technologies (AKI-Lock®, metal joining, welding) and molding technologies (AdvaThermo®). We also found that there is great ongoing interest in one of our key products, POM DURACON® (sliding property).
In the years ahead, we want to continue creating Innovation Shows that can serve as vehicles for increasing our presence in Japan and overseas as Polyplastics continues to expand globally.
Mr. Yasuhiro Ozeki