Newer Shows: Groups Find Their Niches

As the ancient Romans said, "Nihil novus sub sole" ("There's nothing new under the sun"). That's partly because, sometimes, it's the oldest ideas around that people keep coming back to and rethinking.

Such is the case with the two new association-owned shows in the following profiles.

As the old industries of power and packaging have evolved, two groups have identified emerging sub-sectors and carved out niches, both for their associations and their shows.

One is a packaging event specifically for suppliers and independent distributors, the other an energy event specifically for solar power.

In each case, success has come from the insight of a few individuals deeply rooted in the industry, and their taking the lead to fill a need that wasn't being met. As the following profiles demonstrate, the fine art of launching a specialized event depends on a good understanding of what the target audience really wants, as well as the market's potential.

The NPTA Alliance (formerly the Natl. Paper Trade Assn.) has been around since 1903, serving the paper, packaging and supplies distribution industry. It has long had an annual convention — where industry suppliers and distributors get together for private meetings held in suites — but since last year, it's also got a tradeshow.

In 2006, NPTA launched DistriPakUSA for independent distributors of small industrial and food packaging equipment and the companies that supply them. The second edition will be Oct. 23–26 at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center.

DistriPakUSA's focus — on suppliers and distributors — differentiates it from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute's Pack Expo, whose focus is end users, according to Kevin Rudd, chairman of the NPTA packaging division committee and executive director of network services. Rudd said Pack Expo featured larger, more sophisticated packaging machinery than DistriPakUSA.

"The primary driver for the launch was that our members, and other suppliers and distributors saw a need for a show focused on suppliers and independent distributors," Rudd said. Other organizations don't represent that part of the industry, so NPTA thought it would step in.

Twenty years ago, Rudd added, everyone in the industry went to the same shows, but this niche called for specialized service. There was nowhere for distributors of packaging materials and supplies to see new products and find new vendors. So, DistriPakUSA debuted Oct. 4–7, 2006, at Chicago's McCormick Place.

It collocated with the Intl. Sanitary Supply Assn.'s ISSA/Interclean North America. Bill Frolich, president of NPTA Alliance and the Paper Foundation, said the collocation with Interclean was a natural fit, because one-third of Interclean's attendees also sell packaging.

He said he had the idea for the show about four years ago, but it took three years to make it a reality.

"We felt we could fill that niche (for packaging distributors), and bring in new members at the same time," Frolich said. "The growth of the packaging side of NPTA was just as important a goal as having a successful show, but I realized that it is difficult to convince attendees to get on another airplane to go to another tradeshow."

That meant demonstrating the show's value to attendees, while persuading exhibitors that NPTA would deliver customers.

"Start-ups are the classic chicken-and-egg problem," Frolich said. "We were headed in that direction until I learned there were ISSA attendees who also sell packaging."

The NPTA Alliance and ISSA had worked cooperatively in the past, he added. "When I brought this idea to John Garfinkel, ISSA's executive director, he liked it, so we began planning together."

NPTA publishes a magazine and a weekly e-newsletter, so it had a leg up.

"A good bit of this work was basic association management, but some was trial and error. In the process we built a strong event," Frolich said.

The staff had some tradeshow experience from a show NPTA ran years ago, but getting more experienced staff and building a database of prospects were the two main challenges.

NPTA hired staff for show management, meeting planning, logistics and exhibit sales (losing one salesman along the way), and the show team began to take shape. Sheila Borgese, the director of membership and a seasoned association manager, coordinated the overall effort and was liaison with ISSA. She also now serves as show manager.

ISSA's assistance was invaluable, Frolich said, as was the sales and marketing efforts of NPTA's packaging division committee. NPTA accomplished a great deal with a small staff, he said, and, with the help of the association's chairman, the show was on.

"By developing DistriPakUSA, we created value for our members and brought in new members. Our association has grown on the packaging side as a result," Frolich said.

The first DistriPakUSA featured 95 exhibitors in 120 booths spanning 12,000 net square feet. More than 1,200 attendees registered, and another 2,000 from Interclean visited DistriPak, according to Frolich. Both shows were on the same showfloor, so traffic was dense, he said. There was no crossover of exhibitors.

"One of the real tests of success was to ask exhibitors to evaluate their experiences," he added. "Many said they came away with more than 100 significant leads for new business, and one had more than 250. DistriPakUSA delivered."

The NPTA's goal is to grow DistriPakUSA 2007 by 20 percent, and Frolich said the show should reach 142 booths, with 1,500 registered attendees plus those visiting from Interclean.

—Gary Tufel

The general public might not have started thinking about solar power until recently, but the two associations producing the Solar Power Conference and Expo have been around for decades.

The Solar Energy Industries Assn. was established in 1975. Focused on lobbying and political activism, SEIA is the trade association for major manufacturers of solar power products and providers of related services.

Its educational counterpart is the Solar Electric Power Assn. Founded in 1992 as the Utility Photovoltaic Group (with a name change in 2000), SEPA until recently worked almost like a nonprofit users' group — training those who used emerging technologies and giving them a forum to discuss developments.

As part of that mission, in 1995 SEPA started the Utilities Photovoltaic Experience Conference, or UPEC. It was a small meeting, attracting about 250 attendees and 10 to 15 exhibitors each year.

In the early 2000s, however, SEPA recognized the need for a larger show with a broader scope.

"We went to SEIA and offered to them to partner with us on a new show," Julia Judd, executive director of SEPA and chair of the Solar Power show, said.

The first Solar Power Conference and Expo took place in 2004. Since then, it has seen phenomenal growth.

It started with 1,000 total attendees and 60 exhibitors. By 2006, those numbers had risen to 8,000 and 182, respectively, filling a 24,000 net square foot showfloor. Judd expects 10,000 total attendees, 200 exhibitors and 31,920 net sq. ft. for this year's show, Sept. 24–27 at the Long Beach (Calif.) Convention Center.

"My first time at the show (UPEC) was in Phoenix, six years ago," Jim Callihan, president of RenewableEnergyAccess.com, said. "We've seen it grow from 225 people that year to an expected 10,000 this year."

Because RenewableEnergyAccess.com is an official marketing partner and exhibitor in the show, and Callihan is a member of the show planning committee, he has a strong interest in its growth.

"We just came out of an international (solar power) show in Germany, which, because there's been great federal policy support in that country and high interest, drew 32,000 attendees," he said. "We think the U.S. is three to four years behind that kind of number. We see (Solar Power Conference and Expo) having the potential to double its size in three years."

Why? And how?

Two reasons, according to Callihan. First, "the show had great vision by the association, Julia Judd and the SEIA." Second, he said, "the market has just had phenomenal legs, growing anywhere between 25 and 30 percent per year," depending on how it's tracked.

That market growth has spurred attendance and exhibitors at the show, he added.

There are just a couple hurdles — some market-specific — in managing this growth.

"We're very space-constrained (in Long Beach)," Judd said. "Last year and this, we could've easily doubled our number of exhibitors. We have 100 or more companies that are angry they're not exhibiting."

That problem will be solved with next year's move to the San Diego Convention Center, which has 616,363 sq. ft. of exhibit space, compared with Long Beach's 390,382 sq. ft. Judd said she's holding halls F, G and H in San Diego, which will give her about 100,000 net sq. ft. of space for the show — triple the projected size of this year's exhibition.

As a result, Judd believes the number of exhibitors could double and attendance could rise to 15,000.

The 2009 show is booked at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, which has 223,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

Beyond that, it gets tricky. Judd explained that SEPA can't book as far out as some other show organizers for a couple reasons.

"The U.S. solar industry is growing at more than 40 percent per year," she said. "But much of that is policy-driven, so there is certainly the potential for a cyclical nature depending on the current administration. That's one reason we don't book too far in advance."

Another has to do with state policies. SEPA and SEIA only want to hold the show in states that produce a high percentage of their energy through solar power.

"We're in California because more than 80 percent of the solar market is there right now," Judd said. "We hope to leave California in 2010, but we have to go to a state with a good market, and we don't know which states will have good markets because that depends on pending legislation."

For the time being, however, she believes there's no end in sight to the growth potential. The show is still small, relative to the explosion in the industry it serves. "It could keep growing like this for who knows how long," Judd said.

Since last year, for instance, Solar Power has caught the eye of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, bringing in new blood.

And as growth in the U.S. solar market accelerates, it's decreasing overseas. As a result, foreign companies are looking to bring their business to the U.S.

"Having a lot of international exhibitors really changes the planning process," Judd said.

—Heidi Genoist