Argentina: Industry Is in Full Rebound

In late 2001, as the United States coped with the economic slowdown that followed the tragic events of Sept. 11, Argentina was in the midst of its own crisis that led to violent street protests, the resignation of the president and a major devaluation of the peso.

In light of these events, Gabriel Pascual divides the history of the country’s exhibition industry into three periods.

Pascual is managing director of Reed Exhibitions Argentina, one of the biggest players in the market. The company began doing business in Argentina, the second largest country in South America, in 1993. From then until 2001, he said the industry saw nothing but continual growth.

Then, “during 2001-2002, due to the economical crisis the country experienced, the tradeshow industry (was) paralyzed,” Pascual said.

Since 2002, he added, tradeshows have rebounded and are now achieving maximum results.

Reed Exhibitions partnered with E.J. Krause & Associates on its tradeshow business in both Argentina and Brazil until 2005, when Reed bought out E.J. Krause’s share.

At the time, citing still-deteriorating conditions in the country, E.J. Krause President and CEO Ned Krause said, “There just wasn’t enough bread on the table.”

Reed Exhibitions officials saw it differently. Its commercial director, Nick Forster, said, “With the pickup in the regional economy, we wanted to grow the business faster. Reed Exhibitions felt it was easier to do this with our own resources and fewer partners.”

Reed Exhibitions Argentina, a branch of Reed Exhibition Americas, now organizes eight business-to-business events annually in agriculture, electronics, travel and real estate, among other industries.

The company’s biggest event is Batimat Expovivienda, which serves the building, construction and interior design business.

Reed owns most of its shows, Pascual said, although “in some cases, such as ExpoComm Argentina, we are (still) partners with E.J. Krause, and in other cases we have local (partners).”

Almost all of Reed Exhibitions’ events are held at La Rural Convention Center in the capital city, Buenos Aires.

The center, whose full name is La Rural Predio Ferial de Buenos Aires, has a 130-year history. Since the economic recovery in 2002, the number of fairs at the venue has jumped from 24 to 44 in 2006, with 3.4 million visitors and 11,200 exhibitors.

La Rural has more than 45,000 square meters (484,376 square feet) of indoor space, and an additional 10,000 sq. m. (107,639 sq. ft.) of outdoor space.

A number of Reed Exhibitions shows are scheduled there:

• Alimenteria Mercosur, a food and beverage show, Aug. 12-14
• ExpoComm Argentina, for the IT and telecom sectors, Sept. 23-26
• Argentina Electronic Show, for the electronics industry, Nov. 20-23

Pascual said he wanted to see Reed Exhibitions’ business in Argentina expand even further by “focusing our business to generate events and products that will give added value to our exhibitors and visitors.”

Mexico City District Federal Palacio de Los Deportes 149,995 www.ocesa.com.mx