June Gloom: Too Many Fire Shows
By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 6/20/2005
From Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Syracuse, N.Y., and Hannover, Germany, the fire protection industry was scorching hot this month — hot enough, in fact, for one show to get out of the kitchen.
Fire Department Instructors Conference — West, held June 4–8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, is moving next year to Sept. 23–27 dates at the same venue.
Eric Schlett, director of sales and operations for show management firm PennWell, called it a "strategic change." Some of the 75,000 square foot show's 160 exhibiting companies called it a welcome relief, pointing to the large number of shows they have to try to get to in such a short amount of time.
The week of June 5 also featured the quintennial INTERSCHUTZ — the world's largest fire show with 140,000 attendees and 938,000 sq. ft., and newly collocated with INTERPOLICE — June 6–11 at Messegelande Hannover; the annual NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition (Natl. Fire Protection Assn.) June 6–10 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino; and the annual FIRE 2005 (No. 91 on the Tradeshow Week 200) June 9–11 at Syracuse's Empire Expo Center.
And even though the FDIC — West showfloor didn't feature operating fire hoses for its 3,000 attendees — primarily from 13 western states, Ohio and New Jersey — exhibitors couldn't help but feel their spirits dampened by the simultaneously held shows.
"The first week of June has been terrible. Our office is empty right now," said Matt Boyle, account representative for chemicals and equipment firm Chemguard. The Mansfield, Texas-based firm had its fire show bases covered, with sales executives at NFPA (which had 303 total exhibiting firms), INTERSCHUTZ — and the Natl. Coal Show June 7–9 at Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center. INTERSCHUTZ attracted 30,000 non-German exhibitors and 69 U.S.-based exhibitors.
"September would be a very welcomed change (for FDIC — West)," Boyle said.
Plus, noted Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighter Adam Knabe, a September show would help California fire personnel because "a lot of people are on vacation now" and the later date would make it easier to gear up for the busy fire season of October to December.
Exhibitor Scott Giem, general sales manager for Costa Mesa, Calif.-based inflatable boat maker Maurer Mil/Pro, said he appreciated that PennWell was "jockeying for a position" among the 16 other U.S. fire protection shows this year.
Another exhibitor, Craig Bassett of Bassett Sales, was overwhelmed by the number of fire-related shows. "You could be at a show every week," he said.
FDIC — West started in 2000 in Sacramento, Calif., and took place in late April every year at the Sacramento Convention Center until its February 2003 show, when it attracted 5,274 attendees. The show took a hiatus last year, Schlett said, to gear up marketing and operations efforts, before the move south to Los Angeles. "It takes a long time to get that stuff in order," he said. Nevertheless, half of the show's exhibitors have already rebooked for next year.
The show, hosted by the L.A. County Fire Department, incorporated for the first time fire department ride-alongs for attendees which, along with hands-on training exercises, took place during non-exhibit hall hours.
Despite the large number of U.S. fire personnel, tight government budgets may be the reason for any attendance decreases at fire protection shows, said Capt. Jim Arvizu of the Long Beach (Calif.) Fire Department, which sent four out of 460 uniformed personnel to FDIC — West. Although "it's kind of nice to see what other departments are doing" for training and equipment, "we don't send everybody," Arvizu said. "All the cities around here are feeling a budget crunch."
LBFD also sent four members to Cygnus Expositions' 85,000 net sq. ft. Firehouse World Conference & Exposition Jan. 31–Feb. 4 at the San Diego Convention Center, which attracted 4,895 attendees, an increase of 9 percent over its 2004 show.
The November 2004 FireTech Reno show saw attendance drop by 16 percent to 2,100 visitors. The show, managed by Carla Rose Tradeshow Management in 2004, will be managed by Reed Exhibitions this year and merged with FireRescue Conference & Expo.
New Jersey-based PennWell also manages two other FDIC shows: FDIC — Indianapolis (No. 62 on the TSW 200), next scheduled for April 24–29 at the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome, and FDIC — East, taking place Oct. 4–8 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
