With more than a year remaining before the 2013 International Converting Exhibition (ICE) USA opens in Orlando, FL, USA on April 9, show organizer Mack Brooks Exhibitions announced that they have increased the show floor by 15,000 square feet to accommodate demand for more space.
According to the organizers, nearly 200 companies that have already reserved 90% of the original available booth space, and over a dozen have increased their booth size by an average of 98%. In addition, nearly two-dozen companies that did not exhibit at the 2011 event have reserved space for the 2013 show.
“We are thrilled with the enthusiastic response from exhibitors so far in advance of the show,” says Bob Chiricosta, show director of ICE USA. “Several more companies are also planning on expanding their booth space, and many other companies are planning on exhibiting for the first time.” Chiricosta says many exhibitors at the 2011 event were so pleased by the results of the first show that they want to bring more equipment and running machinery to the 2013 ICE USA. He cited Double E Company as one exhibitor that nearly tripled the size of its booth from 400 to 1,000 sq.ft.; he added that Deacro has also expanded from 600 sq. ft. to 1,000 sq.ft.
“We increased our space at the show because the company is growing rapidly,” said Bret Hardy, marketing director, Double E Company. “In addition to our own web converting accessories, we also represent Re spa and Mario Cotta, so to do justice to this wide-ranging spectrum of complementary accessories, we will need more space.”
These sentiments were echoed by Keith Hamilton, sales and marketing manager at Deacro. “Following Deacro’s success at the last ICE show in Florida, and due to our latest innovations and new slitter rewinder products, Deacro has nearly doubled our exhibit space for the next ICE show. We are eagerly awaiting the 2013 show where we expect larger crowds, driven by the volume of equipment on display for attendees to see.”
ICE USA is also benefiting from international companies that exhibit at the other worldwide ICE events and want a larger presence in North America. Spooner and PSA Technology are two new exhibitors to ICE USA that have exhibited at ICE Europe for many years.
“As the economy continues to improve and the word continues to spread about the success of the 2011 ICE USA, we anticipate the 2013 event will continue to grow much larger,” Chiricosta says. “Fortunately, we have the space at the Orlando Convention Center to accommodate the growth.”
According to show organizers, several 2011 exhibitors have reported millions of dollars of sales from leads generated at the show. “We have generated sales of nearly $2 million from meetings we had at ICE USA,” says Bob Pasquale, president of New Era. “Plus, we have several other ICE USA generated leads in the pipeline.”
