SHOW NEWS: NIFS Setting Records As 2007 West Show Moves To Mandalay Bay

John Wolz

The National Industrial Fastener Show/West will set records at its new location November 12-14, 2007, at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas.
As of August 13, NIFS listed 601 companies with 704 booths, easily besting the old record of 653 booths in 1996 in Columbus, OH.
In addition to exhibitors listed on the NIFS website, show management recently announced their total is 788 booths to 639 companies.
There were 554 exhibiting companies with 640 booths at last year”s show at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.
With the possibility of hundreds more booths than in 2006, just the additional exhibit staff alone could push total registration to a record even if distributor numbers don”t climb. Total registration in last year was 5,154, compared with the NIFS record of 5,326 in 1998 in Columbus.
Records would probably have been broken sooner, but show management kept the events at the Paris even though the industry outgrew the Paris ballroom in 2000.
The move to Mandalay Bay also resolves several long-standing issues exhibitors had with the Paris ballroom. With the expected crowd this year the floor plan provides full width aisles instead of the narrower ones at Paris. After years of complaints from exhibitors in the auxiliary ballrooms, this year NIFS is now pointing out that all booths are in one hall at Mandalay Bay.
Mandalay Bay touts itself as the fifth largest convention center in the U.S. The hotel, opened in 1999, has 4,400 rooms, 55 stores and two spas.
Well known as the host to the musical, Mamma Mia! Mandalay Bay also features the Shark Reef aquarium and the House of Blues Music Hall. But with NIFS” November dates, the fastener industry will miss the signature 11-acre Mandalay Beach, complete with sand, waves, pools, jungle and a river. Through September there are concerts on the sand under the stars.
All 26 restaurants within Mandalay Bay are available for suppliers to rent for private parties. Hotel suites also are available for receptions.
Show Schedule
Conferences will be on Monday, followed by a one-hour opening reception at 6 p.m. The trade show will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.
Other NIFS events include a golf tournament on Sunday and the NIFS Hall of Fame luncheon Wednesday inducting Barry MacLean of MacLean-Fogg and Marty Schneider of Continental-Aero (see FIN, March 21, 2007).
There will be three conference programs on Monday:
” The Los Angeles Fastener Association will present “Understanding the Bolted Joint” from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with Carmen Vertullo of SimplyBetter as instructor. The course is part of LAFA”s Certified Fastener Specialist program.
” Jim Speck of Johnson Gage Company will return as the instructor for NIFS” “Application Engineering Workshop” from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
” The Western Association of Fastener Distributors will present Dr. Bart Basi speaking on “The International Economy and Its Effect on Costs, Demand and Pricing of Metals Affecting the Fastener Industry.” The program will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Hotel Alternatives
The official NIFS host hotel price at Mandalay Bay is up 40.3% from Paris last year, but Las Vegas boasts 132,605 hotel rooms competing for fastener industry business.
Show management negotiated a $209 rate for the “run of the house” rooms at Mandalay Bay, compared with $149 for Paris last year. The NIFS rate for Mandalay Bay executive suite rooms is $285.
Neighboring Luxor also is available for $175 at the official fastener rate. There may be lower prices online as Luxor was offered at $120 Sunday night and $170 Monday night recently on Hotels.com.
Hotels within one mile range from $495 at Four Seasons Las Vegas to a low of $34 for Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel.
Other hotels within a mile with recent Hotels.com prices also include: Travelodge Las Vegas South Strip $69; Ambassador Strip Inn $70; Tropicana Americas Best 70; Emerald Suites Tropicana 79; Hooters Hotel $79; Orleans $82; Jockey Resort $99; Hampton Inn Las Vegas/Tropicana 120; Excalibur $128; Fairfield Inn/Marriott $130; New York New York $170; Desert Rose $180; Monte Carlo $209; MGM Grand $210; Courtyard / Marriott $220; Residence Inn/Marriott $230.
One exhibitor bringing a large staff has found better rates by negotiating directly with the hotels instead of using official fastener rates. Others have used frequent guest programs or senior discounts.
The Las Vegas Monorail connects Mandalay Bay with more hotels, including: Bally”s Las Vegas Hilton, MGM Grand, Tropicana, Aladdin, Harrah”s, Imperial Palace and Sahara.
Across Las Vegas Boulevard is a row of motels dating from the 1950s to 1970s: White Sands Motel, Happi Inn, Motel 8, Desert Oasis, Laughing Jacfkalope, Diamond Inn, Glass Pool Inn and Casa Malaga.
Interstate15 runs along the West side of Mandalay Bay and across the freeway to the southwest are: Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
The deadline for advance discount registration is August 31.
For NIFS information contact show manager Susan Hurley. Tel: 614 895-1279 E-mail: Susan@fastener-shows.com Web: fastenershows.com \�2007 FastenerNews.com