NPE 2006, which will be in Chicago starting June 19, is setting records for the percentage of participants coming from outside the United States. The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. sponsors the triennial event, which will be June 19-23 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
The growth in the international share is evident in two ways:
Companies coming to NPE 2006 directly from outside the U.S. already accounts for a little over one-third of all exhibitors, up from 30% at NPE 2003 and 24.5% in 2000.Leading the growth is China, with a total of 127 exhibiting companies from the mainland and Hong Kong.Asian companies in general account for 45% of international exhibitors thus far.Canada and Germany, which have regularly sent large numbers of exhibiting companies to NPE, were the countries sending the largest non-Asian contingents.
International registration from outside the U.S. is also up, accounting for 21% of total attendees.
“Clearly SPI’s long-range strategy of growing NPE internationally continues to show positive results,” said Walt Bishop, SPI vice president of trade shows.“Anticipating this, we have developed a wide range of resources enabling international exhibitor personnel and visitors to make the most of their time at NPE 2006 and to develop contacts between visitors and U.S. firms with the technologies and products they hope to encounter while at the show.”
During NPE 2006, SPI will operate an InternationalCenter in the Grand Ballroom of McCormick Place South.Information on business and networking opportunities for international visitors is available at www.npe.org/international .
