The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and The Plastics Industry Trade Association (SPI) have reached an agreement that will add new dimensions to the next three annual SPE ANTEC conferences, in a move the associations hope will attract more corporate exhibitors and sponsors, and increase attendance.
ANTEC 2015 will co-locate with NPE2015 in March 2015 at Orlando, FL.
SPE had previously co-located the 2012 edition of its ANTEC technical conference with the NPE2012 international plastics exposition.
"Building on the successful co-location of our ANTEC conference with NPE2012, the agreement between SPE and SPI will benefit both organizations by creating new avenues for growth," said Willem De Vos, SPE's CEO. "Our collective efforts will increase attendance at technical sessions, expand the trade show held during ANTEC in non-NPE years, add valuable new educational content, and support SPE's strategy for international diversification."
SPI's role in all three ANTEC events will include producing a "Business of Plastics" conference to be held alongside SPE's technical conference, selling co-located exhibit space as well as promotional opportunities for corporate sponsors, and contributing to the marketing of the entire ANTEC program.
The ANTEC conference consists largely of original, peer-reviewed technical presentations. During NPE2012, ANTEC 2012 provided 623 presentations and attracted 1,432 attendees.
The trade show that is traditionally associated with the ANTEC conference was not held in 2012 but in 2011 included 84 exhibitors. The show will be held again in conjunction with ANTEC 2013 (April 22-24 in Cincinnati, OH) and ANTEC 2014 (April 27-May 1 in Las Vegas).
SPI's Business of Plastics conference at NPE2012 had 779 attendees. In contrast to the technical presentations in the ANTEC conference, the SPI program focused on current issues affecting business strategy. It included 28 presentations of original content by industry experts.
"Following strong attendance at our Business of Plastics conference during NPE2012, SPI is delighted at the prospect of making this program into an annual event, creating what amounts to a new product stream and increasing our visibility as a provider of educational content," said William R. (Bill) Carteaux, SPI's president and CEO. "At the same time, our sales and promotional work on behalf of ANTEC-related events will generate new marketing opportunities for the companies that make up our own membership."
