FoPI 2025: An energising industry get-together

Showers with sunny intervals. That was the forecast on FoPI day, which sums up pretty much any other day in the UK. One moment you strip yourself of all the extra layers, the other you’re regretting not taking that beloved umbrella. But as they say – the show must go on – and so it did. And what a show it was.

The Festival of Polymer Innovation 2025 was as energising and explosive as Matt & Phil – the organisers – dancing to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. Full of joy in seeing the event they’ve been tirelessly working on for over a year, being a fantastic success.

There were women in stilts, fire dancers, the Arctic Numpties and a surprising – yet brilliantly executed – saxophone performance (kindly offered by Plastech’s Sales Director, Daley Williams). This brought even more energy to the party, along with an improvised limbo dance whose stick was replaced by our Interplas-branded light-up poles – we loved to see them put to good use.

The day was insightful and inspiring, with a green, glowing stage sponsored by ENGEL. Presentations included 'The role of Plexiglass' by Röhm, the 'Future of Biomaterials' by Solinatra and 'Sustainability with the right Cooling' by Frigel. These were spaced out with coffee breaks (did you get your reusable Foamo cup?) and a varied lunch buffet, where options ranged from falafel skewers and Singapore noodles to nachos and fries.

The afternoon continued with us finally exhibiting our Interplas bucket hats at the Interplas Marquee – yes, we’re that cool. We networked with industry experts, asked a few on-the-spot questions about Interplas (because why not, we’re less than a year away!) and handed out our red sunglasses to pretty much everyone who crossed our path – and those who didn’t, too, because we like to persevere.

Then, as the night came upon us, we distributed some light-up whistles and bracelets to start building up the party atmosphere. To those who thought the goodies were over and tried to avoid our stare, I say: never underestimate us!

6 pm coincided with Mouldshop getting the BBQ ready and live music starting to play. Despite the – at times – heavy rain, we didn’t fail to show up. The bravest out in the open, the others under the tent, but either way, there, ready to bring the energy. One of the first things I was told when I interviewed for this job is that the people in the plastics industry are very sociable. I’ve had several confirmations over this past year, but if I still had any doubt, yesterday's event erased them all.

We sang loud, we laughed hard, we danced our socks off and had a night to remember, so thank you, Plastribution, for bringing all of us together to have fun. Because business is important, but we can’t forget to have fun along the way, too!