Cygnus and Infinity Expo Set for Security Launch

Team gets five months jump on Reed's more established tradeshow

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 4/26/2004

The first scene in a contest for New York's makers and distributors of home and office security products will be played out next month with the launch of Security & Systems Solutions Expo.Organizers from Cygnus Expositions, which is co-launching the June 2-3 event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center with Infinity Expo Group, predicts a successful debut. They've got a lot to keep them motivated, with Reed Exhibitions' established Intl. Security Conference East, set for Nov. 3-4 at the Javits, nipping at their heels.

Late last fall, Cygnus and Infinity announced the new Security & Systems Solutions Expo, which is meant to feature products and services for the independent alarm installer in the New York tri-state area. According to Joanne Lazar, Cygnus Security Group publishing director, it's also meant to fill a hole left when Reed Exhibitions moved ISC East from its 30-year home in New York to Orlando in 2002 and Washington, D.C. in 2003.

"We saw an opportunity in the fact that they had vacated the venue and abandoned their original focus and were going much broader, talking about government and corporate security," said Lazar, who oversees Cygnus's Security Dealer and Security Technology & Design magazines, which each have a circulation of more than 25,000.

Cygnus and Infinity expect 100 exhibitors and 2,000 pre-registered attendees at the inaugural Security & Systems. Last month, the company landed keynote speaker New York

Sen. Michael Balboni, recently appointed to the regional homeland security funding task force. Besides his presentation on funding opportunities for independent installers, other educational sessions will address business skills. In addition, the show has secured the support of a long list of local burglar and alarm associations.

Reed is equally optimistic about ISC East's return to New York. The company is coming off a successful ISC West March 31-April 2 at Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, with 17 percent more attendees and 6.6 percent more exhibitors than last year filling a 204,000 net square foot showfloor.

Industry Vice President Dean Russo said that, in addition to signaling a booming security business, the West show also saw the sale of 7,500 sq. ft. for the East show.

"I'm not taking anything for granted," he said. "We have some aggressive plans in place to make sure ISC East is a success. But even though it's going to be a challenge and require hard work and dedication, I feel good about it."

Part of the challenge may be due to the Orlando-Washington rotation. Square footage dropped each year, and ISC West exhibitors who had been at the last two East Coast shows reported disappointment with them. On its Web site and in press releases, Reed alternately called the event ISC East, the Natl. Summit on Security, ISC New York, and ISC East again, indicating some confusion in the show's aim.

Still, Russo insists the show hasn't lost focus. "Reed and SIA moved the show out of New York based on what the exhibitors wanted: to attract some other people from the rest of the East Coast. We didn't lose focus…the plan to go to D.C. and Orlando was made to take advantage of what everyone thought was the emerging government market."

The move back to New York, where it plans to stay at least through 2005, should give the East show some momentum, since there is strong recognition of the ISC brand there. Reed reported it has enlisted the endorsement of the New York Burglar and Fire Assn. (including eight local chapters), in addition to its longstanding sponsor, the Security Industry Assn. And Russo said he's excited about a series of manufacturers' training programs, turnkey opportunities for industry manufacturers to teach dealers, installers and integrators how to sell and use their products.

As for exhibitors, both companies said they're pleased with the companies they've signed so far: Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric Industrial and Kaba Ilco in Cygnus' case; Honeywell Intl., Panasonic, HID and Linear in Reed's.