A Super Show Year
- Published: February 01, 2007, By By Yolanda Simonsis Associate Publisher/Editor
Editorial
You knew I couldn’t let this month’s column go by without some reference to Super Bowl XLI. I mean how many times does anyone get to see their home team play in this football extravaganza? (Only two in my lifetime.) And as luck would have it, how often do adjacent states get to battle it out? It’s not too unlike the battle of exhibitions our industry will be enjoying this year.
The Super Bowl hype was so over the top here in the Midwest that I just wanted it to be over with already! And by the time, Dear Readers, you actually read this column, it will be over, and I expect my e-mail will offer either condolences or congratulations.
Similarly, press releases publicizing this year’s converting shows are starting to proliferate as well. Perhaps they’re not as numerous as the Super Bowl information that bombarded us from every which way, but I’m already feeling battle fatigue. Whether you’ll attend all the shows, only some, just one, or even none, you’ll need to determine to some extent how well these shows meet your individual needs, not to mention how well they market their benefits and value.
For many attendees, there must be an iron-clad reason to justify attendance at shows. I recommend you start preparing your own battle plan of attack: Who’s going, for how long, and what you’re considering or firmly planning to buy.
Following is a list of exhibitions and their strengths/emphasis in chronological order:
- Graphics of the Americas (March 2–4) in Miami Beach, FL (hmmm, that has a familiar ring). It has a largely commercial printing orientation, but the Mexican and South American converting industry is no stranger to this venue. Converting equipment downline from printing presses is among its strengths. Courses and tutorials comprise the conference sessions.
- uv.eb WEST 2007 (March 6–7) in Los Angeles, CA, promises printing and coating technology via radiant curing methods. It’s a conference and tabletop exhibition event with more than 60 exhibitors.
- ICE 2007 is the International Converting Exhibition (March 27–29) in Munich, Germany. Serving primarily the European converting community, the show continues to grow—with 250 exhibitors at the last event—and features a technical congress.
- SVC’s TechCon Exhibition (April 28–May 3) in Louisville, KY, has over 260 exhibitors and says its dedicated to vacuum coating.
- The Foundation of the Flexographic Technical Assn.’s InfoFlex (May 6–9) will be held in Montreal, QC, Canada, this year boasting more than 150 exhibitors covering the flexographic industry and an extensive conference program.
- CMM Intl. Converting Machinery/Materials Conference & Exposition (June 4–7) in Rosemont, IL, lists 310+ exhibitors covering converting and package printing. With a comprehensive conference program, the show is planning its first technology centers to provide solutions and hands-on exposure to new equipment.
- PackPrint 07 (September 9–12) premieres with Graph Expo in Chicago in cooperation with the Flexographic Technical Assn.
- CPP Converting & Package Printing (October 15–17) again will be staged with Pack Expo West in Las Vegas. Its companion Chicago event in 2006 featured 132 exhibitors.
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