PennWell Picks Up Nanotechnology Conference

Marking its second acquisition in as many months, PennWell has picked up Small Times Media, a company that produces a magazine and conference serving the nascent nanotechnology industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., the 4-year-old Small Times includes a magazine, a Web site, newsletters and NanoCommerce, scheduled Nov. 1–3 at Chicago's Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in conjunction with the Semiconductor Equipment & Materials Intl.'s year-old SEMI NanoForum. Organizers expect 700 attendees and 80 exhibitors.

The Small Times team will remain in Ann Arbor, reporting to PennWell's advanced technology division in Nashua, N.H. Small Times CEO Patti Glaza will become a vice president and group publisher at PennWell.

NanoCommerce isn't the only event in the marketplace geared toward developing microelectronics. At one point after the passage of the 2003 Natl. Nanotechnology Initiative, 200 such events per year took place. Among the larger competitors are Nanotech, sponsored by the Nano Science and Technology Institute; and Penton Media's NanoBusiness, supported by the NanoBusiness Alliance.

PennWell last month acquired Paperloop's CMM Intl. Conference & Exposition, a biennial event that in 2003 drew nearly 29,000 attendees to a 257,000 net square foot showfloor with 662 exhibitors, earning it a No. 86 rank on the Tradeshow Week 200.

PennWell, a producer of 60 conferences and exhibitions in a variety of sectors, holds two other TSW 200 events: POWER-GEN Intl. and FDIC — Indianapolis.