Updated: NPE to Orlando in 2012 and 2015

After calling Chicago home for 38 years and 14 events, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI; Washington, DC) has decided to shift its triennial international plastics showcase, NPE, to the city of Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center, citing among other things a cost structure in Chicago that impacted the ability of attendees to visit and exhibitors to participate. In addition to a venue change, there has been a date shift as well, with the event moving up in the calendar to the spring. In 2012, the show will take place from Sunday, April 1 through Thursday, April 5, with the educational program beginning on Sunday, and Monday marking the first day of a four-day trade show.

Jim Buonomo of contract manufacturer Nypro, and SPI’s chairman of the board, said SPI’s 2009 operations committee, which consists of 12 SPI member companies and NPE exhibitors, began a review of NPE’s costs in the March/April timeframe, considering a new locale due to the escalating price of McCormick. Buonomo said their research found that mounting cost pressures were limiting the amount of equipment that exhibitors were willing to run at the show. “Our industry is very much into feel, taste, and touch,” Buonomo explained, saying the lack of running machinery didn’t go unnoticed by attendees.

The Conair Group’s Chris Keller, who also acts as SPI’s vice chairman, said SPI undertook a survey of NPE exhibitors and attendees, gauging what was most important to them. Topping the list was new technology/innovation, followed by a large number of exhibitors, grouping of those exhibitors, and cost to attend. Also, given the broader difficulties in the economy, Keller said it was important that exhibitors have “reasonable and predictable costs”, something that was lacking in McCormick.

Jim Murphy of Davis-Standard, who is also the vice chair of NPE2012, said that, on the basis of dissatisfaction with Chicago, the operations committee began a thorough review of other potential host cities, investigating Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, and Orlando, comparing the costs, facilities, and amenities of each to Chicago. Atlanta was ruled out since there wasn’t enough contiguous show space and the event would have to also utilize the Georgia Dome; Houston lacked adequate space and hotel rooms; and Las Vegas didn’t have time available or adequate power. This meant the committee would compare Orlando and Chicago on a head-to-head basis through August and September, before ultimately voting unanimously to choose Orlando. SPI’s board and executives affirmed the operations committee vote, and Orlando was chosen as the site for the next two shows.

“The U.S. plastics industry needs to keep pace with the global plastics industry,” Murphy explained, adding that having a cost-competitive show in the country would be part of that success. Entek’s John Effmann, who is the chairman of NPE2012, stressed that Orlando was chosen for a number of factors, not just cost structure. “Orlando represents a lot of things,” Effmann explained, “not just savings in dollars and cents.” He did add that the decision to move was ultimately a business one, saying that the cost differences between the two sites were “so significant we couldn’t overlook it.”

Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando Visitors Bureau, who worked with SPI through the decision process and will continue to work with the group on marketing the show, added that first-time trade shows in Orlando often see a spike in attendance with many exhibitors and attendees tacking on leisure time before or after the show in Orlando.

In a release, SPI said Orlando would offer average savings of 48% on utilities for booths; 19% for on-site hauling (drayage) and rigging services; 23% on lodging; and 11% on travel. The Orange County Convention Center has 2.1 million ft² (195,000m²) of exhibit space between two halls, which are connected by a 1500-ft (460m) walkway with moving sidewalks. The total parking capacity is 8227, and according to the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau there are 115,000 hotel rooms in the Orlando area, 9100 of them within walking distance of the center.

SPI noted that historically, 55% of NPE’s attendees come from within a 300-mile radius of Chicago due to the plastics-heavy nature of the Midwest, and because of this, SPI weighed the cost of traveling to the event in Orlando from 10 key Midwestern cities. Ultimately it found that in some cases, travelers could save 19% by flying into Orlando versus driving into Chicago and paying for parking, etc. In addition, SPI is eyeing the growing automotive industry presence in the Southeast, saying that 20% of NPE attendees typically come from the automotive sector.

Ultimately, Carteaux and others on the call said SPI also had to weigh the global cost structure of plastics events around the world since many of its exhibitors also exhibit in places as disparate as Mexico, Germany, and China. — Tony Deligio