Can Robots and Assembly Lines Find Happiness?

Think robots and assembly lines were made for each other? You're not alone. Starting Sept. 27-29, 2005, the Robotics Industries Assn.'s Intl. Robots & Vision Show will collocate with Reed Exhibitions' Assembly Technology Expo at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.

The robotics and vision technology show, a biennial event that has been around for 28 years, has been taking place four months before ATExpo at the Rosemont convention center in odd-numbered years. Managers of the two shows said the collocation made sense for several reasons.

"Robotics is so popular in so many applications, and you can find a tradeshow for just about every application: painting, material handling, welding…" said RIA Executive Vice President Donald A. Vincent. Therefore, association members are forced to exhibit not only in the robots show, but in shows from other industries as well.

"Our board of directors basically told us to go find a show from a major application and collocate with it," Vincent said. Hence, the partnership with Reed, whose ATExpo fit the bill perfectly.

Kel Marsden-Kish, the Reed Exhibitions vice president who oversees ATExpo, added that putting the events side by side will allow manufacturers and engineers to see more of the new technology they need in one place. "We said, 'Hey, instead of us both hitting the same market at different times, let's just get together,'" he said.

Participation declines in ATExpo, a Tradeshow Week 200 event sponsored by Assembly magazine, have mirrored difficult conditions in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The show shrank from 212,000 net square feet, 748 exhibiting companies and 12,131 attendees in 2001 to 146,550 net sq. ft., 572 exhibiting companies and 11,397 attendees in 2003.

Intl. Robots, meanwhile, grew from 70,000 net sq. ft., 205 exhibiting companies and 7,000 attendees in 2001, to 100,000 net sq. ft., 250 exhibitors and 10,000 attendees in 2003, according to Tradeshow Week research.

Still, Marsden-Kish said the collocation had nothing to do with the performance of either show. "This is not a move to get ATExpo back on growth," Marsden-Kish insisted, nonetheless adding, "If we put these two shows together, one plus one equals three." Reed projects the combined events in 2005 will feature 850 exhibitors in 200,000 net sq. ft. of space and attract 15,000 attendees.

The Intl. Robots & Vision Show, sponsored by the Automated Imaging Assn. in addition to the RIA, collocated last fall with the Intl. Fasteners & Forming Expo and Sensors Expo. Vincent said those two shows probably would not join Intl. Robots and ATExpo in the spring of 2005. "We tried something new at the last show, and I didn't see that much success from the fasteners show for them to be interested in coming back," he explained. "I don't know about Sensors but, anyway, there's not enough space at Rosemont for all of us."

According to the collocation agreement, the RIA and AIA will endorse ATExpo's robotics pavilion and create educational programming at the show using the association's technical expertise. Both shows will maintain their own identities, with each being separately promoted and managed. RIA re-negotiates its management contract yearly, Vincent said, and will decide soon whether Reuter Exposition Services will continue to manage Intl. Robots.

In addition, RIA has agreed not to undercut Reed on space rates. Both organizations will charge companies $28 per square foot to exhibit, although Vincent added, "We give discounts to members. The bigger the dues payers, the bigger the discount."

Neither Vincent nor Marsden-Kish view APEX, the electronics assembly process exhibition and conference, as a competitor. "APEX is electronics. It's electronic assembly. ATExpo is broader than that," Marsden-Kish said. Among its special sections, the Reed show features the Electronics Assembly Suppliers Initiative.

APEX, produced by IPC-Assn. Connecting Electronics, had been growing steadily since its launch in 2000, jumping from 141,850 net sq. ft and 337 exhibitors that year to 212,200 net sq. ft. and 599 exhibitors in 2002. Last year brought declines for the Tradeshow Week 200 event, however, with the show dropping to 146,550 net sq. ft. and 572 exhibitors.