Trade Show News by Tradetec Skyline Chicago

Archive for June, 2008

IMTS-International Manufacturing Technology Show will be hosted at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois - September 8-13th.

IMTS has many benefits and exhibiting success stories, from small start up companies to large manufactures, this event is filled with new technology, educational seminars & networking opportunities. Exhibits and seminars will fill four pavilions and house over 15,000 new machine controls, tools, computers and more.

Forming relationships and networking at IMTS can give your company insights into the latest technology and help you improve your companies over all performance. Overcome the many challenges in the industry with the educational presentations at the new Innovation Center.

Whether this is your first time exhibiting at IMTS or your fiftieth, and you are looking for a competitive edge, and fresh ideas, IMTS 2008 will bring that technology & innovation to your entire team.

Donald E. Stephens Convention center adds a service for trade show exhibitors and attendess with up to the minute flight information.

How many times have you raced through a hotel lobby, rental car facility or other travel venue, wishing you could just check the real time of your flight quickly on a digital display board?

It’s no longer a wish for busy attendees at the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center, but a real convenience, located right in the front lobby. Officials of the Stephens Center have had a TouchQuest FlyteBoard installed. It was developed by Flyte Systems, in partnership with digital signage software provider, Digital Minds Inc.

Trade Show attendees and exhibitors no longer have to scramble to figure out if a flight is delayed or canceled.  The Donald E. Stephens Convention center is bringing convenience and technology to their trade show and convention center audiences.

Hosting over 100 trade shows a year, bringing this technology into the convention center will help  exhibitors and attendees alike manage their time on the trade show floor.

Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois -  will be hosting the Assembly Tech Expo - ATExpo 2008 this September.  America’s only event that is dedicated to the entire Assembly Process.  Located in the heart of the Chicago Metro area, the 840,000 square foot convention center will give you access to leading suppliers in the industry.

Your exhibit badge for the ATExpo 2008 will give you access to six other co-located industry shows:

National Manufacturing Week
Electronics Assembly Show
Plastics USA & Plastec
MD&M Midwest
Green Manufacturing Expo

This would be a great venue to get your products and services in front of many industry leaders & decision makers.  Registration is still open for the events, and there is still plenty of time to  get your exhibit design underway.

If you are planning to exhibit at one or all six of the co-located shows, there are many exhibit solutions and choices for your particular exhibit space.

Island Exhibits, Table Top Exhibits or Pop-Up Displays with a large variety of portable exhibits you can achieve more exposure on the trade show floor, creating more leads and more contacts in the Assembly Tech Industry.

Fourth union signs on to ease work rules at McCormick Place
By Stephanie Corbin — Tradeshow Week, 6/23/2008

The average rate for carpenters in Chicago may have gone up this year compared to last, but that doesn’t necessarily mean exhibitors at tradeshows at McCormick Place will be paying more.

In fact, because of a new two-year collective bargaining agreement with the carpenters union that went into effect June 1, exhibitors will probably be paying less overall, despite the results in that category of Tradeshow Week’s 2008 Survey of U.S. and Canadian Labor Rates.

New rules that could be easier on exhibitors’ pocketbooks include straight time rates from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the break of a show and the time-and-a-half rate window being expanded from eight hours to 12 hours on Saturdays, said Juan Ochoa, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Previously, time-and-a-half and double overtime rates were charged, respectively.

“That’s pretty good in terms of what the overall costs will mean to the shows,” he added. “(It shows) we’re consistently moving in the right direction as it relates to our competitiveness.”

The Chicago & Northeast Illinois District Council of Carpenters is the fourth union representing McCormick Place workers to negotiate more flexible work rules during the past two years. Riggers, decorators and electricians previously negotiated new contracts that resulted in changes:

* reduced crew sizes
* reduced overtime charges, particularly on Saturdays
* no overtime charges at all during the first four hours after a show closes
* staggered start times
* a wider range of tasks exhibitors can do themselves
* customer service training for union workers

“We recognize the importance of the convention and tradeshow industry to Chicago, and that is why we were willing to make changes that will lower costs and provide greater flexibility for exhibitors,” said Frank Libby, second vice president of the carpenters union. “We believe the changes we agreed to will help attract more shows and lead to more work for our members.”

The agreement with the carpenters union was different from those negotiated with the union in the past because Freeman and GES, the two major contractors that stage shows at Chicago’s McCormick Place, were able to negotiate directly with the union. Previously, the general service contractors had to abide by agreements made between the union and the Mid-American Regional Bargaining Assn., a group that represented Chicago-area building and construction trade associations.

“It’s a huge stepping stone for us to get to that process,” said John Patronski, executive vice president of GES.

Ellen Beckert, spokeswoman for Freeman, said, “We put into place some specific conditions that were relevant to the tradeshow industry. Those are working conditions that especially impact the tradeshow industry because of the work that we do.”

In 2007, according to information supplied to TSW, the average carpenter’s rate in Chicago was $87.20 for regular time (straight time), $131.98 for overtime (time-and-a-half) and $169.58 for Sundays (double overtime). This year, rates rose to $92.53 for regular time, a 6.1-percent increase; $140.42 for overtime, 6.4 percent; and $182.88 for Sundays, 7.8 percent.

The average U.S. rate for carpenters also rose, from $64.97 for regular time to $78.95, from $100.78 to $117.06 for overtime and from $115.18 to $144.01 for Sundays.

Beckert and Patronski said the new work rules will save exhibitors money because, for example, if a show closes at 4 p.m. on a Friday, exhibitors would pay the lowest rate for the four-hour period immediately after that and have a larger amount of time on Saturday when the time-and-a-half rate would apply.

“Rate is one thing, because labor has to be paid,” Patronski said. “The work rules and the straight-time window of building (and) crew sizes, those also become a huge driver when you look at bargaining agreements.”

Patronski said the work rule changes translate into more significant cost savings than if the rates weren’t rising by a small percentage each year.

“Budgeting and anticipating labor cost in the city is more than the rate,” Beckert added.

Peter Eelman, vice president of exhibitions for the Intl. Manufacturing Technology Show, agreed.

“Rates are probably the least of our worries,” he added. “What can really make progress is when you can make these work rule adjustments that make sense to the exhibitors.”

Eelman is part of the Labor Management Council, a group made up of representatives of the MPEA, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, show managers, service contractors and unions that deal with labor issues at McCormick Place and Navy Pier.

With the agreement with the carpenters in place, almost all the Chicago unions that deal with tradeshows have renegotiated contracts that are more show-friendly, according to the MPEA. The only remaining union involved with tradeshow work, the Teamsters, have a contract that expires Dec. 31.

“For us, it’s a sign of continued progress,” Eelman said. “This is a goal we’ve had for many years.”

Eelman’s show is scheduled Sept. 8-13 at McCormick Place, and he added that the new rules will help as show officials finish planning IMTS.

The agreement also allows for random alcohol and drug testing.

That, Patronski said, “is very, very significant.” He added it’s important for employers to have the ability to test randomly rather than only after accidents occur because it promotes a safe work environment.

The previously negotiated contracts carry the same drug and alcohol testing provisions.

DeckExpo and Remodeling Show, both owned by Hanley Wood Exhibitions, will collocate Oct. 28-30, 2009, at the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome in Indianapolis.“These two events are a natural fit,” said Amy Allen, associate show director for both. “Both the remodeler and deck builder are craftsmen who are constantly looking for education to stay ahead of their customers and to grow their businesses.”

Since Hanley Wood acquired DeckExpo in 2006, it has grown from 26,400 net square feet to more than 35,000 net sq. ft., Allen said. The most recent show was March 5-6 at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. Remodeling Show will take place Sept. 10-12 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

In 2009, the two events will have separate exhibit hall entrances, but attendees will be able to visit both events, officials said. Allen said each show will offer separate conference programs, but some of the general business classes will be open to attendees from both events.