Semicon West Is a One-City Show

Changes mean show will not be divided between Moscone and San Jose

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 6/14/2004

If not yet under one roof, beginning next year the two parts of SEMICON West will at least be across the street from one another. After splitting the show for the past seven years between San Francisco's Moscone Center and San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Semiconductor Equipment & Materials Intl. is consolidating all exhibits at Moscone Center and Moscone West.

For its first two decades, the semiconductor industry's annual gathering was held at the San Mateo County Expo Center. When the show outgrew that venue in 1992, SEMI relocated the show to Moscone Center, seeking not only more exhibit space but extra hotel rooms and a more cosmopolitan destination as well.

When the show began bursting at the seams again in 1997, SEMI could have moved it to Orlando or Las Vegas. But wanting to keep the event rooted in the industry's Silicon Valley birthplace, the association came up with an unusual solution: locate exhibitors associated with wafer processing at Moscone Center and exhibitors associated with test, assembly and packaging at San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

That solution has worked. But it required extending the show to a week and shuttling visitors between the two venues. In addition, SEMICON West's general service contractor had to set up two shows and 70 exhibitors had to operate booths in both locations.

SEMI dealt with the logistical maneuvering because it didn't have a choice — that is until Moscone West's nearly 300,000 square feet of exhibit space opened last summer across the street from Moscone Center.

When the industry association surveyed its members it found overwhelming support for the move. To orient exhibitors, at this year's show SEMI will provide on-site registration for 2005. Tours of Moscone West are also planned.

"Clearly it will make it easier for them. To reunify the show was very much supported by our membership base," said Gia Carunchio, manager of SEMICON West Expositions.

The only downside is leaving San Jose. "SEMI has been really pleased with San Jose as a service provider. It was actually very difficult to move the show," said Jonathan Davis, SEMI vice president of communications, adding that the organization hopes to hold other events there.

Understandably, San Jose officials are sad to lose SEMICON West. "SEMICON has really thrived here. It's a critical part of the makeup of our convention business," said Dan Fenton, president and CEO of the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Since the tech bubble burst, San Jose has lost a number of big shows, including Software Development West, ISPCON, Streaming Media West and the Communications Design Conference. Fenton said having 80,000 square feet of temporary new exhibit space available by next January should help the center attract targeted customers such as association shows.

In addition, under a CVB project called Team San Jose, a new management structure will enlist labor, hospitality and the arts community in helping operate the center. The new management system is expected to make the center more competitive and flexible with customers when it is implemented Aug. 1. "We think it's going to bode well for San Jose," Fenton said.

SEMICON West was the only TSW 200 show San Jose hosted. Moscone, meanwhile, hosted eight TSW 200 shows in 2003. They included the American Dental Assn. Annual Session, PCBC, the NADA Convention & Exposition and the NASFT Fancy Food Show.

Still, the added business is welcome. SEMICON West's 15,000 attendees translate into 33,300 room nights and a $23.3-million economic impact. "It definitely will have a significant impact on the city," said Lysa Lewin, director of convention sales for the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.

SEMICON West had to demonstrate it could fill 7,000 peak rooms in order to qualify to occupy Moscone Center and Moscone West. The added space allowed Oracle to move its OracleApps corporate event from the San Diego Convention Center and combine it with the company's OracleWorld, which attracts about 20,000 people to Moscone each year. Lewin said the expansion also allowed the venue to retain the American Dental Assn.'s meeting, which in 2003 drew 40,000 attendees and spanned more than 180,000 net square feet.

The wafer processing portion of SEMICON West held at Moscone usually accounts for 240,000 to 255,000 square feet and the test, assembly and packaging portion in San Jose from 100,000 to 120,000 net sq. ft. This year's SEMICON West will open with the wafer processing segment July 12–14 and continue in San Jose July 14–16.

Carunchio said holding the entire show in San Francisco won't save much money, since separate registration, housing and security offices will still need to be set up in each Moscone building.

The cyclical semiconductor industry has been in contraction mode in recent years, causing the show to shrink from 365,523 net sq. ft. in 2002 to 339,314 net sq. ft. in 2003. SEMI expects this year's show to be about the same size as last year's.

But evidence is amassing that the chip industry is poised for an upturn, with Gartner recently forecasting a 25-percent spike in global chip demand this year and a 15-percent increase in 2005.

"I think this year will be definitely upbeat relative to the last couple of years," said Davis. "Our industry is historically notorious for cycles. Most of the exhibitors are well aware of that and ride through the cycles."