Tehran is hosting a two-day conference dubbed “Iran German Plast 2015” on December 7-8. Organized by the German Federation of Mechanical Engineering’s Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association, also known as VDMA, the event will present the latest achievements of some of the best and most innovative companies in this field, organizers of the event say. “The event will also include business to business (B2B) negotiations featuring German, French and Austrian representatives of plastics and rubber machinery industry and Iranian companies,” said Thorsten Kuhmann, managing director of VDMA. Saeed Faeqi, the deputy head of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, said at the conference that Germany’s share of Iran’s industrial machinery has shrunk from 40% before the sanctions regime to 3.5% and Germans’ procrastination on the pretext of nuclear issue and Middle East insecurity would send it even lower. “IDRO is tasked with the construction of four rubber factories each with a capacity of 50,000 tons. It is on the lookout for industrial machines and has approved the quality of German machinery, but the economy will not wait for the assessment of a trade partner. Hence, opportunities will be missed [if the Germans hesitate],” he said. Germany is the world’s leading manufacturer of plastics machinery, including injection molding machines, extruders and blow molding machines. The country’s equipment manufacturers export around the world. The 185 company members of the VDMA represent 90% of the industry’s total output in Germany. They hold about 25% of the world market for output and exports.
