SHOW NEWS: NIFS/East Distributor Registration Jumps; Exhibitors Decline

John Wolz

Distributor registration jumped 35.6% for the 2006 National Industrial Fastener Show/East and overall registration increased just under 5%, according to show management”s numbers. Several exhibitors report attendance exceeded expectations.
At 510 the number of distributors registered was the highest since 715 for the 2001 show. There were 376 in 2005. The record is 1,753 in 1995.
The number of booths at the 26th annual trade show dropped from 223 at the 2005 NIFS/East in Baltimore to 171 exhibiting companies and organizations with 185 booths this year. With distributor registration up and 17% fewer booths this year it gave the distribution-oriented show floor a busy feel. The record number of booths was 653 in 1998.
Show management also announced it will return to Columbus in even numbered years where it was founded and held for 22 years.
There were 153 manufacturers registered for the show, 58 manufacturer reps, 39 independent sales reps, 29 importers and 96 “others.”
Exhibitor personnel and guests raised the total show registration to 1,450 or 4.9% over 2005 registration.
Actual attendance is not known as NIFS figures include advance and onsite registration. NIFS management does not use a verified attendance system and the show is not audited by an independent trade show quality assurance system. Show management does provide a list of registrants to exhibitors.
Other recent wire and fastener shows which do report actual attendance show 10% to 48.4% of advance registrations did not actually attend. Trade show experts have estimated that frequently 50% of those preregistering do not attend.
Exhibitor Comments
“NIFS/East was good for us & busy until about 2 p.m.,” one regular exhibitor reflected. “The show seemed better than the past few years based on business conditions and the fact that the show isn”t in Columbus every year.”
“The NIFS/East show was just “OK,”” one sales manager found.
“The show was good for us,” declared an exhibitor who has been expanding in the Midwest. “Well worth our time.”�
Suggestion Box
“I understand the [Hall of Fame] lunch prior to the show was poorly attended. I also think the [opening reception] is well attended,” one exhibitor observed. “I think show management should consider mimicking” the Chicago Expo”s post-show “Bash” with a dinner and HoF ceremony. “Our industry benefits most where there is camaraderie with all people.”
Another suggested NIFS outsource the opening reception to STAFDA. Both shows were in Baltimore in 2005 and NIFS held a “stand and drink reception in another hotel ballroom” while STAFDA took over Camden Yards. “I stood in a major league dugout with a baseball-loving customer,” an exhibitor recalled. “Now that was bonding.” STAFDA and NIFS will hold back-to-back shows in Las Vegas in November and “STAFDA distributors can compare the opening receptions, programs, speakers and shows.”
Another exhibitor called on fastener exhibitors “to join forces and stop having two national shows, This show does nothing to promote or support our industry.� The group that runs the NIFS do not give anything back to the industry by way of training or scholarships and are not held accountable in any way, shape or form. ”
One exhibitor wants the larger NIFS/West show to be held during the better spring dates rather than just before Thanksgiving. “They [show management] must make more money by taking the late dates.”
“We would like to see it [NIFS/East] back in Orlando or maybe Atlantic City,” said one Midwest-based exhibitor with customers around the nation.
The most frequent suggestion was to “bring back the color-coded badges” so exhibit staff can pre-qualify approaching visitors as distributors or others at a glance.
One exhibitor that the seven-hour show “really only lasts about four hours” and show management could slash exhibitor costs by changing to a tabletop show in a hotel ballroom.
The next NIFS/East will be May 22-23, 2007, in Atlanta. For information contact show manager Susan Hurley. Tel: 614 895-1279 Fax 614 895-3466 E-mail: info@fastenershows.com Web: fastenershows.com \ �2006 FastenerNews.com