Canon Turns Manufacturing Pavilion Into Show
By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 10/23/2006
Canon Communications has already begun fine-tuning the block of manufacturing-related shows it bought from Reed Exhibitions earlier this year. It will turn the Electronics Assembly Pavilion portion of Assembly Technology Expo (ATExpo) into a full-fledged show, Electronics Assembly Show. Along with a new conference, Surface Mount Technology Conference, the new show will be collocated with ATExpo, Natl. Manufacturing Week and Quality Expo, beginning with the Sept. 25–27 show at Rosemont's Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
The Electronics Assembly Pavilion had been part of ATExpo since the late 1990s. Its attendance of 3,900 visitors this year (up nearly 37 percent from 2,850 in 2005) signaled that it deserved "a dedicated event," said Kevin O'Keefe, vice president of Canon's events division.
"I was really pleased to see the traffic flow," he said.
O'Keefe said the rapid growth of the pavilion could be at least partly attributed to the strong electronic manufacturing market in several Midwestern states.
Canon bought ATExpo, Natl. Manufacturing Week and Quality Expo, along with the AM Expo — Advanced Manufacturing Exposition & Conference, Nepcon East, Assembly New England, Intl. Powder & Bulk Solids Conference/Exhibition, Southeast Powder & Bulk Solids Conference/Exhibition and Quality Expo Detroit from Reed Exhibitions in May. Two months later the Los Angeles-based company, owned by Apprise Media, announced that ATExpo, Natl. Manufacturing Week and Quality Expo would collocate.
According to Canon, the five-state North Central region — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin — is home to 20 percent of the nation's largest electronics contract manufacturers and accounts for a third of the country's output of electronics-related products and equipment.
The new show and collocation will "really help to deliver the right people to the showfloor. With fewer people doing more ... (attendees) really need to see worthwhile use of their time," O'Keefe said.
The pavilion last month at the Rosemont venue spanned 37,000 square feet with 225 exhibiting companies, according to O'Keefe. The new show is expected to span 42,000 sq. ft. with 250 companies. Canon has identified at least 100,000 prospective attendees for the show within the five-state area, he added, and it will be supported by several industry publications.
Canon announced two other collocations in July. Southeast Powder & Bulk Solids Conference/Exhibition and AM Expo — Advanced Manufacturing Exposition & Conference (formerly scheduled in Greenville, S.C.) will be organized alongside SouthPack, Automation Technology Expo, Plastec South and Design & Manufacturing South at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center April 24–26, 2007. Nepcon East and Assembly New England will collocate with OEM New England at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center Oct. 30–31, 2007.
