Competitividade e potencial de crescimento do cluster de embalagens plásticas do ABC paulista [Potential growth and competitiveness of the cluster of plastic packing producers in the ABC paulista]

The geographic concentration of firms has been successful recently in many ways: international competitiveness of these firms, regional income's growth, etc. The Italian industrial districts are the case with major relevance at the international literature. At the ABC paulista there are a significant geographic concentration of plastic packing producers. When the geographic concentration of firms is a cluster the potential growth and competitiveness of the firms are increased. This paper investigates if this geographic concentration of firms is a cluster. If it is, its potential of growth and of competitiveness is studied. The result is that the ABC's cluster has significant potential for growth. However the external economies that are virtuous cluster's feature are incipient.