Pumping It Up: GPS Is Canada's Largest

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 6/28/2004

Peter Faloon calls the Global Petroleum Show a tradeshow with character. Established in 1968 by a company called Southex, for decades the event remained housed in the Western-themed Big Four building at Stampede Park, home to Calgary, Alberta's internationally known summer rodeo. Now that the dmg world media event is Canada's largest tradeshow and the world's largest oil and gas show, it occupies every available square foot at Stampede Park, inside and out.

Under the management of dmg, which bought the show in 1996 along with Southex's other gas and petroleum products, the show has spread out considerably. Not only does it occupy the Big Four exhibit hall — named after the region's four pioneer ranching families — but the biennial event also snakes through Roundup Centre, Stampede Park's newest and most luxurious venue, into the older Corral and even into the parking lot, where 130 outdoor exhibits of larger equipment are located. Dmg is so eager for additional space that it even erected a 66,000 square foot temporary structure called Newpark Center to accommodate 150 exhibitors.

This year's GPS, held June 7–10, spanned 535,000 net sq. ft., drawing nearly 1,600 exhibitors and about 55,000 attendees. About 6,000 attendees came from 80 countries outside Canada. That compares with 480,525 net sq. ft., 1,474 exhibitors and 52,049 attendees in 2002.

Previously known as the National Petroleum Show, the dmg event was rebranded after 2000 when Calgary landed the World Petroleum Congress, a global industry gathering that attracted participation from 90 countries. Hosting the international meeting gave Calgary heightened stature as a petroleum industry headquarters, said Faloon, dmg vice president of business media in North America, who oversees all of dmg's oil and petroleum tradeshows. Now, he said, international attendees come to the show to learn about cutting-edge developments in Canada's petroleum industry.

GPS, which topped Tradeshow Week's Canadian 50 in 2002 and will likely do so in 2004, is held in conjunction with the Canadian Intl. Petroleum Conference, a business and technical event that draws about 1,000 registrants.

GPS takes virtually all of the region's available hotel rooms. Not only do event-goers fill rooms downtown, but in surrounding suburbs and even as far as the Rocky Mountain community of Banff, 78 miles to the west, and the provincial capital of Edmonton, about 150 miles to the north. Some attendees and booth personnel fly back and forth each day from Edmonton to Calgary during GPS's four-day run.

The show also strains the local power grid. In 1998, recalled Faloon, the show caused a brownout and was threatened with closure. These days, organizers bring their own supplemental power.

Despite the constraints, Faloon said dmg has no plans to pull up stakes, since Calgary is such a recognizable headquarters for the industry. Such a move also wouldn't sit well with the provincial government, which supports the event. "They recognize the business impact," said Faloon. "We're not talking millions, we're talking billions of dollars of business being done as a result of communications on the showfloor."

Still, expanding GPSto an annual event is not on the table. Faloon said dmg's GO-Expo, a bridge event held in even-numbered years, gives exhibitors a chance to display their latest wares during off years. Dmg also holds the Oil Sands Trade Show & Conferencein Fort McMurray, Alberta in the fall of even-numbered years, and the Offshore Newfoundland Petroleum Show in the summer of even-numbered years. The company also acquired the Intl. Pipeline Exposition & Conference, held at Calgary's TELUS Convention Centre in the fall of even years.

With oil prices at record levels, the mood at this year's show was upbeat. Yet most exhibitors weren't counting on prices staying that high forever. Rick Shalagan, sales and marketing manager for Calgary-based FMC EnergySystems, has lived through industry ups and downs. "A lot of guys pulled out of the show in the '80s," he recalled. "It used to be good-year, bad-year. Things really got strong in '97, and they haven't slowed down yet."

The industry, said Shalagan, has reached "peak oil," a term for when production can barely keep up with demand. Analysts credit economic growth in China and India, as well as uncertainty in the Middle East, for the situation. Shalagan said FMC, a producer of wellheads and safety systems, has tripled the size of its booth since the last GPS show in 2002.

Faloon recalls the oil-price fluctuations that took place during the Gulf War. There were predictions that per-barrel prices would jump from $30 to $50. Instead, the per-barrel price dropped $10 in the space of an hour. "What goes up comes down in this industry," said Faloon. "It's fueled by speculation in the majority of the world's energy markets." Besides, he added, "having the industry too hot is a bad thing for the show. They're too busy to come."

The event draws companies exhibiting everything from oil rigs, wellheads and drill bits to flameproof clothing, transportation services and pumps. Two trends driving growth are modernization and a mandate to make the industry safer. Pierre Van Neste, vice president of sales and marketing for Calgary-based Pandell, said his company has launched business services software that will help oil companies track their safety programs. Vice President of Business Development Allan Bowman is hoping to sell wireless tracking devices to the petroleum industry for his Toronto-area company, Mobile Computing.

And while the design for the pumpjack — the seesawing device prevalent in oilfields — hasn't changed in nearly a century, it is now being fitted with sophisticated electronics that closely monitor pumping. Lufkin Industries, with offices in Calgary, is one of those companies providing the electronics gear. "You can get a well-site manager for $6,000, while one pump change is $20,000," points out Rick Williamson, general manager for Lufkin Industries, which also has Calgary offices.

This year's GPS had the added complication of coinciding with Calgary being in the throes of Flames fever, as well as fierce rainstorms that made outdoor set-up a challenge. The city's hockey team lost out to Tampa Bay in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Game 6 took place at the adjacent Saddledome just two days before the show opened. The night before the show's opening, Flames fans gathered at the Saddledome to watch Game 7 on giant video screens as it was telecast from Tampa, Fla. Barriers had to be set up to protect the show's outdoor exhibits occupying the Saddledome's parking area from zealous hockey fans. No trouble was reported.

The playoffs gave exhibitors displaying red, the team's color, added cachet among local attendees. Cummins Engine used the event to show off its new red and black color scheme. Booth personnel wore red shirts and black pants that played off the company's red-painted engines. "It's very attention-grabbing," said Lisa Eubank, Cummins marketing events manager. Energy industry giant Halliburton slogan, meanwhile, is "Think Red."

With oil a highly charged political issue in some quarters, some might wonder if there's greater need for security at petroleum shows. Faloon said show organizers learned to be prepared after the World Petroleum Congress, which attracted 340 groups protesting the event, and after the G-8 economic summit was held in Alberta in 2002. "Preparing for a Flames hockey playoff in 2004 was very easy by comparison," Faloon said.