The Festival of Polymer Innovation Returned to a Record Number of Revellers

An industry event designed to flip the script on the traditional industry trade show, the Festival of Polymer Innovation (FoPI) returned last week, to huge increases in visitors, exhibitors and live performances, proving success in its outdoor music festival meets industry conference format. Despite the best of British weather interfering in the afternoon, the FoPI team were well prepared with backup tents and coverings, keeping the 560+ festivalgoers eager, well into the evening’s musical entertainment. 

Glasto Meets Plasto

Held at the Heart of England Conference Centre in the beautiful Warwickshire countryside, the Festival of Polymer Innovation (FoPI) features a daytime lineup of industry-leading speakers, presentations and roundtable discussions, from ‘headliners’ including Shell Polymers, AO Recycling, Rohm, ENGEL, UBQ, Solinatra and more.

The 600-seat capacity indoor conference theatre, sponsored by ENGEL and lit in distinctive ENGEL green, was hosted by Stephen Hunt and Graeme Craig of the BPF, with 15 speakers presenting the latest innovations and developments, to fit the theme of polymer innovation. To keep the content light and punchy, all speakers are limited to 20-minute, solutions-focused presentations. With less filler and a limited time spot for every presentation and in blocks of two and three presentations before visitors emptied the theatre for refreshments and networking, the conference flowed well all day and highlighted several interesting industry projects and technological developments.

Highlights included Shell Polymers discussing its state-of-the-art polyethylene plant, ENGEL showcasing its ‘ENGEL GPT’ AI function and Solinatra discussing the future of biomaterials, before the session was rounded off at 3pm, with an expert roundtable discussion titled ‘The challenges of adopting sustainable materials in plastic packaging’ between representatives of Plastribution, Notpla, GCR, Amcor, Ducor Petrochemicals and Robinson Packaging.

Relaxed Environment Key to Networking and Socialising Success

Throughout the morning and afternoon and between conference sessions, visitors enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere for networking and socialising, with the other guests as well as a selection of 30+ industry exhibitors occupying tabletop stands in the main festival marquee.

With the relaxed festival-style dress code, refreshments and lots of themed giveaways and interactive exhibits on display, the exhibition area generated a real buzz and was bustling with hundreds of visitors throughout the day. The relaxed vibe worked to create a ‘guards down’ atmosphere, and proved successful in encouraging socialising as well as business engagement, with all exhibitors I spoke to commenting on the value and volume of the discussions they were having, most keen to visit or exhibit at the festival again in the future.

Free lunch for attendees was provided courtesy of PlastikCity, with visitors having the choice of three styles from the on-site food vans. With plenty of outdoor space, hay bales, benches and undercover seating (for when the rain started!), the guests were well looked after and had plenty of space to mingle, enjoy the sunshine on the day and remain very well fed and watered. This reflected positively, with over 300 guests staying after the conference finished and into the afternoon and evening entertainment, a significant increase from the 2024 event.

Support from Industry Sponsors

Organised primarily by leading polymer distributor, Plastribution, the event would not have been possible without the support of its industry-leading sponsors. As well as ENGEL sponsoring the conference ‘main stage’, Summit Systems supported the outdoor music stage, Interplas the networking marquee, PlastikCity provided lunch to all visitors at the ‘PlastikCity Street Food Hub,’ Mouldshop hosted the evening BBQ, and Polyram sponsored the drinks lounge, providing daytime refreshments and an evening bar.

The sponsors also worked with local brewery, the Birmingham Brewing Company, to create two special FoPI beverages, which were provided free of charge to guests and went down very well on the day!

An Evening of Live Music

Following the daytime’s more business-focused programme, into the afternoon and evening, the live music and entertainment took over, with live performances from professional tribute acts, as well as some industry faces like you’ve never seen them before!

The Four Kicks (featuring event organiser and Plastribution’s marketing manager, Matt Goodger on vocals and guitar and a fantastic guest vocalist performance from Plastribution’s Dionne Wardle) and Dropping Like Flies (also featuring many familiar faces from Plastribution’s team including Dan Jarvis, Kat West and Martin White) we were left wondering: “Just where do the Plastribution team find all of this musical talent?” Apt then, that they were the minds behind the FoPI concept after all.

The evening’s musical headliners were two professional tribute acts. The ‘Arctic Numpties’ had me reliving my teenage years as they performed the hits of Sheffield-based rock band the Arctic Monkeys, before ‘Dirty/DC’ closed the event and had the crowd bouncing to the tunes of legendary rockers AC/DC.

There was even a surprise saxophone performance from Plastech Solutions’ Daley Williams, which you might have spotted on LinkedIn (worth checking out if you haven’t!) that summarised the good vibes and positive energy the event generated throughout the day.

Verdict: A Highly Successful Sequel

After a strong debut with its first event in 2024, FoPI had a lot to prove with the looming threat of ‘difficult second album syndrome’ when it returned this year, but as a sponsor, exhibitor and visitor, I think the event smashed all expectations. With visitor numbers increasing significantly and the changeable weather to grapple with, there were challenges to overcome, but the diligent organisation from the FoPI team and its supporters meant the day went off without a hitch. Despite emergency orders for 100 more burgers for the BBQ, the event managed not to suffer from its own success.

Large increases in attendees and visitors proved the concept was well received by the industry, if not clear from the first year, and the day was very enjoyable from a business and a personal perspective, with the relaxed atmosphere helping to cultivate successful networking and business opportunities and offer something different from the traditional trade show or conference experience.

PlastikCity was delighted to be a sponsor of the event and to add our input to the planning and organisation stages, but we’d like to take the opportunity to thank the fantastic effort and implementation from the Plastribution team on what resulted in a very successful event, and for the ongoing support of the other event sponsors for making it possible.

Keep your eyes peeled for news on the next FoPI event, coming to a rainy marquee near you soon!

Read More from PlastikCity here.

Written by Will Clarke.

PlastikCity
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