At the press breakfast, NPE leaders relayed a few statistics about the show:
- NPE2012 exhibitors have taken up 920,000 sq.ft. (85,500 sq.m) of exhibit space, 20% more than was occupied in 2009
- Companies coming directly from outside the U.S. account for 40% of the total exhibitor count in 2012, a substantial increase from the one-third share for recent NPEs
- Approximately 41% of these international exhibitors come from China
- Attendee registrations in 2012 are 30% greater than in 2009
- International registrations account for 25% of the total, and half of them are from Latin America
- 54,000 room nights
- 15 million pounds of freight
"It's safest to say this is the largest show we have ever had in terms of freight," Effmann said.
Gene Sanders, SPI senior vice president of trade shows and conferences, predicted there will be more than 50,000 people attending NPE2012 when it is all said and done.
NPE2012 has attracted many new first-time exhibitors and visitors, not just from other countries, but from manufacturing companies in the southeastern U.S. that are within easy reach of Orlando, Sanders said.
"This is truly an industry show for the industry run by the industry," he said.
SPI spent about $4 million in marketing, which Sanders said allowed the event to reach an even broader audience.
While William R. (Bill) Carteaux, president and CEO of SPI, said NPE2015 will most likely take place in Orlando, SPI is keeping its options "open" for future NPEs.
"So far the response has been great," Carteaux said. "Orlando has really rolled out the red carpet for the plastics industry."
