FAIRS / EXHIBITIONS
“NPE” moving to Florida / Cost savings cited / SPI says new April date offers many benefits
The US plastics manufacturers association, Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI, Washington DC / USA; www.plasticsindustry.org), has made a decision that it rightly bills as a “dramatic change for the largest plastics industry event in North America.” The "National Plastics Exhibition" (NPE; www.npe.org), traditionally held in the “windy city” of Chicago in June every three years, is decamping to sunny Orlando, Florida. The next show will be held from 1-5 April 2012.
While the mild Florida climate in spring and the numerous entertainment opportunities nearby are undoubtedly perks, the main reason for moving the show founded by SPI in 1946 and held at Chicago’s McCormick Place since 1971 is economic. The new location, at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, with 195,000 m² of space in two large exhibition halls, could save the plastics industry up to USD 20m, said James Buonomo, chairman of the SPI board and CFO of Nypro (Clinton, Massachusetts / USA; www.nypro.com).
“This exercise is part of SPI’s overall initiative to help infuse cash back into the plastics industry during these unprecedented economic times,” added Christopher Keller, board vice-chairman and president of Conair Group (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania / USA; www.conairnet.com).
The association has been hit by declining membership revenues and is currently undergoing restructuring aimed at cost saving. Visitor registrations for “NPE 2009” were about a third lower than at the last two events (63,000 in 2006 and 64,000 in 2003) and well below the record 95,000 in 2000 – see Plasteurope.com of 06.07.2009. It was only thanks to an expensive “stimulus package” offered by SPI that the decline in exhibitor participation could be held to a low single-digit percentage.
“Big reductions in the chief expenses incurred by exhibitors and attendees” can be expected by transferring the event to Orlando, SPI said. It calculates savings of 48% on utilities for booths, 19% on on-site hauling (“drayage”) and rigging services, 23% on lodging, and 11% on travel. The lower cost may especially benefit machinery manufacturers, who need large stands as well as a wide range of technical services for setting up and operating the machines. In the US, such services are regarded as considerably more expensive than at comparable exhibitions in Asia and Europe (see Plasteurope.com of 19.03.2009).
Among other benefits, SPI says the switch to early April will allow more time for exhibitors to follow up on inquiries and leads generated before summer vacations. Instead of the traditional Monday, NPE 2012 will start on Sunday with educational programmes and special events. The show will then be open Monday to Thursday, eliminating the sparsely attended final half-day of previous shows. Finally, SPI said the 2012 event will address the longstanding wish of attendees and exhibitors that exhibits be grouped by product category.
e-Service:
SPI "Webinar" NPE 2012 Venue presentation as a PDF document (6,603 KB)
While the mild Florida climate in spring and the numerous entertainment opportunities nearby are undoubtedly perks, the main reason for moving the show founded by SPI in 1946 and held at Chicago’s McCormick Place since 1971 is economic. The new location, at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, with 195,000 m² of space in two large exhibition halls, could save the plastics industry up to USD 20m, said James Buonomo, chairman of the SPI board and CFO of Nypro (Clinton, Massachusetts / USA; www.nypro.com).
“This exercise is part of SPI’s overall initiative to help infuse cash back into the plastics industry during these unprecedented economic times,” added Christopher Keller, board vice-chairman and president of Conair Group (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania / USA; www.conairnet.com).
The association has been hit by declining membership revenues and is currently undergoing restructuring aimed at cost saving. Visitor registrations for “NPE 2009” were about a third lower than at the last two events (63,000 in 2006 and 64,000 in 2003) and well below the record 95,000 in 2000 – see Plasteurope.com of 06.07.2009. It was only thanks to an expensive “stimulus package” offered by SPI that the decline in exhibitor participation could be held to a low single-digit percentage.
“Big reductions in the chief expenses incurred by exhibitors and attendees” can be expected by transferring the event to Orlando, SPI said. It calculates savings of 48% on utilities for booths, 19% on on-site hauling (“drayage”) and rigging services, 23% on lodging, and 11% on travel. The lower cost may especially benefit machinery manufacturers, who need large stands as well as a wide range of technical services for setting up and operating the machines. In the US, such services are regarded as considerably more expensive than at comparable exhibitions in Asia and Europe (see Plasteurope.com of 19.03.2009).
Among other benefits, SPI says the switch to early April will allow more time for exhibitors to follow up on inquiries and leads generated before summer vacations. Instead of the traditional Monday, NPE 2012 will start on Sunday with educational programmes and special events. The show will then be open Monday to Thursday, eliminating the sparsely attended final half-day of previous shows. Finally, SPI said the 2012 event will address the longstanding wish of attendees and exhibitors that exhibits be grouped by product category.
e-Service:
SPI "Webinar" NPE 2012 Venue presentation as a PDF document (6,603 KB)
24.11.2009 Plasteurope.com [214897]
Published on 24.11.2009
German version of this article...