International Flava
- Published: May 01, 2003, By Nsenga Byrd Thompson, Staff Editor
Hello. Hola. Bonjour. Hallo. Konnichiwa. These are just a few of the warm greetings you are likely to hear among attendees and exhibitors at NPE 2003, called the world's largest plastics and elastomers show, which will be held June 23-27 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. Attracting more than 90,000 professionals from more than 100 countries, the event's sponsor, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), anticipates the largest international participation in the history of the triennial NPE exposition, which began in 1946.
SPI is preparing to welcome an influx of plastics professionals from around the globe with conveniences and amenities SPI says are designed to make attendance at the show easy, profitable, and enjoyable. Attendees will view technological breakthroughs from more than 2,000 exhibitors serving all facets of the industry, including packaging, automotive, and medical.
Global Expansion
SPI reports 25% of exhibitors will come from outside the US. In addition to these companies, many other exhibitors will contribute to the international makeup of the exposition, says H. Gunther Hoyt, chairman of NPE 2003. Hoyt notes most of the industry's leading multinational raw material and machinery suppliers will be exhibiting, including US subsidiaries of companies based in other nations and American companies well known to plastics and elastomer processors around the world.
“This broad international participation will make NPE 2003 the defining industry event of the year for visitors from both the US and the rest of the world, enabling them to get a first-hand look at all of the world's new technologies and expand the global scope of their businesses,” comments Hoyt.
“NPE will be of special importance to plastics professionals looking to expand their companies' activities in the vast market of the Americas,” he adds. “In addition to attracting essentially the entire contingent of material and equipment suppliers in the US and thousands of US processors, NPE 2003 will host many exhibitors and thousands of visitors from Canada and Latin America. The only other way to make contact with so many members of the plastics industries of this hemisphere outside the US would be to attend national and regional trade shows in Toronto, Mexico City, São Paolo, and Buenos Aires.”
Several companies— including Davis-Standard, Black Clawson, Dow Corning, DuPont, Kraton Polymers, Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering, and Windmoeller & Hoelscher — are expected to demonstrate the latest products in more than 100,000 sq m of exhibit space. Exhibitors choose NPE as the place to introduce new manufacturing machinery, auxiliary equipment, instruments and controls, and robotics, says SPI. Attendees can view current developments in computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering designed to cut costs, increase productivity, and improve efficiency. Also on display will be new resins and additives that add value to plastics products used in various markets, including packaging.
SPE to Host Conference Program
In a partnering arrangement with SPI, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) will present — free of charge to registered NPE visitors — three days of management and technical briefing sessions that will take place concurrently with the show. SPE also will offer a full schedule of its well-known seminars, providing professional training in specific technologies and made available to registered show attendees at a special rate.
For more information on NPE 2003 exposition and conferences contact SPI at 202/974-5235 or visit npe.org.
