Interview to Ramón Gil of Luigi, general director of plasticsEurope Iberian

The evolution of the business in question has been very affected by the economic situation that is crossing the country, and logically this has had a negative impact in the evolution of this business.

In previous years, the crisis already affected to this business in Spain, however had been able to compensate with the exports. In 2012 it was not possible because some countries to which allocated our products do not walk neither very boyantes. By this reason, the production of plastics in Spain has seen reduced in 8,5%, in front of the figures of the year 2011.

Although it is true that in the year 2011 had had a very light growth of 1,9%, based fundamentally in this export, 2012, between a more acute crisis and a lower demand of our main customers, have had a descent of almost 9%.

Like the majority of exports in Spain, the main market is Europe. We export fundamentally to France, Italy, something to Portugal, Germany and Belgium. Out of these countries, the destination that perhaps presents a greater demand because has relatively little production of plastics and a lot of transformation, that is to say, product finished, is Turkey. Afterwards there are others like China, India or Morocco, but in lower measure.

It is necessary to take into account that the centres of production are foreseen to work in a concrete geographic area and, in this case, in Spain produces mostly for Europe. There are products that to export them to a lot of distance, require some logistical costs that in some cases, do the little competitive operations.

This reflects the economic situation of each region. It is clear that in group have grown, are in 288 million tonnes of plastic products in the international field, what supposes an interesting growth but on the other hand, the distribution is varying of dramatic form.

Chinese is without place to doubts the number one world-wide in consumption of plastic matters and practically constitutes, only Chinese, 25% of the world-wide consumption. This growth in the zone of Asia in general has gone to the detriment of other regions.

If we did a relation of the evolution in each one of the big European countries, would see that each occupies a position in direct relation with his economic situation. In Spain have a negative evolution. The plastic in general is very tied also to the situation of the consumption in the country and of the evolution of the GDP. The half of the consumption of plastics is related with segments like the one of packs and packaging, that is to say, direct consumption. And all know that this is diminishing of form very important in Spain.

In the car, trust that the evolution will be positive to very short term by three reasons: one, that the production of trucks is also oriented mostly to the export, therefore the situation of deflation in the European market influences less.

Two, have a supplying industry of products for the very solid construction, very efficient and very competitive. Have a good base to export. And three, have detected in the last big months car signatures are decanting by Spain with investments to increase substantially the production of some of the centres that have in Spain.

Yes, create in the sector of the automotive sector, because we are competitive, technologically advanced and, in a lot of cases, even leaders. Have a supplying industry very powerful and advanced. Besides, it helps the direct influence of the reform of the Labour Law that has set up. There is a plan of investments that goes to help to that all advance positively. I trust that the sector of the car will be one of the first that goes to recover some taxles of acceptable growth as it had had in the antiquity. I am very optimistic in this sense.

Without place to doubts. In the sector of the car, the plastic is converting increasingly in a material irremplazable. they are doing Pieces that previously could not produce not even with other materials, only with plastic. The plastic contributes a lot of advantages.

The main is the ligereza of the car, which repercute directly in the consumption during all his cycle of life. In the moment in that we have of an electrical car or that displace thanks to another fuel, so much the weight like the others characteristic that contributes the plastic will do it indispensable. I see in a very next future a car practically of plastic.

The evolution of the plastic in our daily life has evolved enormously from 1950. It has gone advancing like optimum material to substitute other materials and will go on doing it by the characteristics that contributes.

Now has to invest. The one of the plastic is one of the most innovative sectors in the industry, and glass areas in which they are doing products with modern plastics very sophisticated that no longer can do with another material. In these moments are developing composed of plastic that allow to do pieces, give solutions to demands of the daily life that could not do if it is not with plastic.

To base of innovation and developing investment, is advancing of an autonomous form, invading new areas of work and of application that never had existed.

There are very clear areas. The transport for example. In Boeing and Airbus, more than 50% of the aeroplane are compound plastics. The aeroplane also has gone substituting to the steel by plastic and is giving better resulted that other materials that used before. No longer it can go back backwards. If we mention the medicine, for example, in the area of prosthesis, there are pieces that can not do of another way if it is not with plastic. And like this, there is infinity of sectors of activity.

Well, the plastic will need always transformative and they always have to be in disposal to make money. It does not be necessary to forget that the plastic has an enormous innovative potential and the transformers also have to advance and adapt to the new technologies, to the new situations, to the new competitivenesses of the market, by what can not do, in my opinion, businesses as they managed twenty years ago.

The innovation that the plastic drags has to transmit to the transformers, and these have to adapt to the current situation. The transformers have been, are and will be the fundamental piece of the evolution of the plastic in the modern life.

Think that if in the world do not have ambitious aims, never will reach at all. This aim yes can achieve, although it is difficult. I think that can reach . The important is that in this way 2020 implement all the subjects that have to develop to attain it. The administration accepts it and is very in accordance with the approach that the plastic waste have a value. We can not us allow bury this value in the dumps.

One of the roads to advance in this steering is to recycle, reutilizar, recycle until it can not more. Today we have in Spain a level of recycled next to 30% and think that this can advance of a substantial form to the 50 or more. The form to arrive to this is not throwing the plastics to the dump, but looking for roads of recycling adapted. So that this produce have to create some optimum legal surroundings.

This is. They recycle of a form or of another 100% of the plastic matters and forbade the plastic in dump already in the year 2005. This has changed the landscape in Germany. Nowadays they recover and they recycle 98% of the plastic matters, plastic product that puts in the market afterwards.

We have a quota of recycled next mechanic to 30%, more what afterwards recovers energetically, are around 50%. Still we command to the dump more than half of the plastic waste.

Too much. In plasticsEurope are on line with the position of the European Commission. It is necessary to consume of responsible form and, from here, effects the collected professional and applies the recycled of quality, so that this product can go back to be used in producing the new products. The problem is that if it does not recycle well, afterwards mix it with virgin plastic and can not give the optimum technical characteristics.

From the legal punto is correct, and in Spain are looking for arguments that does not have any validity. It is clear that a head office of valorisation in the Spain of thirty years ago did not have all the technological advances to avoid broadcasts to the atmosphere. This has advanced of intense form in the last years and today a plant of energetic valorisation is totally innocuous, does not go out neither smoke by the chimney. That forms part of the past and no longer there is reason to think in these so past approaches fashionable today.

Yes, we llevar some important campaigns from a punto educacional. Already from the schools are creating some quite wide programs to inform of objective form of where comes the plastic, for what serves and which is his cycle of life.

Is showed that these plants are not at all contaminantes, on the contrary, what delete is the pollution that can originate in a dump.

I always quote —because it is the paradigm of the plants recuperadoras of power— to the Austrian government, one of the more concienciados of the world in ecological subjects. This has installed a plant of energetic recovery in the centre of Vienna, a plant that recovers thousands and thousands of tonnes of plastic matters and in the centre of the city! If it can do in Vienna, can do in more places.

The industry of the plastics in 2012

The production of plastics to world-wide level reached the 288 million tonnes, what supposes a growth of 2,8% compared with the previous year, according to the analysis of plasticsEurope of the first estimates of data of the plastic industry in 2012. From principles of the years 50, the production of plastic raw materials practically has not ceased to grow, although in the last years this growth has been more modest. Nevertheless, the growth accumulated is impressesive since since up to now, the tax of annual growth composed situates in 8,7%. In the case of Europe, and on line with the situation of current economic crisis, the first estimates indicate that the production of plastics descended 3,8% and the demand contracted 3,2%, situating in some 45,5 million tonnes in the EU27. The first data for Spain, show a similar tendency, although something more marked so much in the production (-8,4%) as in the demand (-5,6%). The sector of the production and transformation of plastics, closed the year 2012 with an approximate turnover of 22.600 million euros. This data puts of self-evident the importance of the plastic industry in our country, and of way very special for the more than 72.000 people that employs. Of face to 2013, the first data, based in the evolution of the first quarter, show that the tendency is resembled the one of finals of 2012. It foresees a possible change of tendency to the end of the year and principles of 2014.

Sectors of application

Regarding the sectors of application, the leader is the one of packs and packaging that represents 47,4% of the demand of plastics in our country. According to the first data of 2012, said demand has kept roughly to the same level that in 2011. The second sector of application, definitely the most affected by the crisis and the national economic context, keeps on being the one of the construction and edificación, with a quota of 14,4% of the total demand and very underneath of his historical levels.
The sector of the car occupies the third position, with an estimate of quota of 7%, very similar to the one of the past year. It expects that the decisions of investment recently announced by diverse manufacturers of car have a positive effect in this sector of application. Finally, the fourth sector is the one of the agriculture, very important in our country and that represents around 5,8% of the total demand of plastics, what supposes a slight growth in front of the data of 2012.