John Wolz

Show management officially made the long-anticipated announcement that the National Industrial Fastener Show/Easts 22-year run of the once dominant North American trade show in Columbus, OH, had come to an end.
There will be a new distribution-oriented venue on May 8-9, 2003, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.\
Industry exhibitors now face three major shows in 2003. The Chicago Bolt, Nut & Screw Association earlier announced it will return its Chicago Fastener Expo to a full booth distribution show after two years as a smaller tabletop event. Chicago’s 22nd annual show will be on April 22, 2003, in Rosemont, IL.
The National Industrial Fastener Show/West will be November 3-4, 2003, in Las Vegas.
No one expressed surprise at the end to the fastener industry tradition in Columbus. Exhibitors felt the dwindling numbers several years ago and began pulling out. Distributor registration fell each year for seven consecutive years.
Nor was Orlando a surprise to exhibitors who said show partners Jim Bannister and Mike McGuire have been mentioning the city for more than a year.
A survey taken at the 2002 event indicated time for a change, show general manager Gloria Crase explained. So, after 22 wonderful years in Columbus, OH, we decided to revitalize the expo by taking it to a dynamic new location with so many advantages and benefits.
Bannister said Orlando was chosen for its airport, its large convention center and the nearby headquarters hotel, the Peabody.
Exhibitor Reaction
�Good, new faces,� said one exhibitor of the change from the Midwest to the Southeastern U.S. location.
�Great idea,� one exhibitor who participates in almost every national and regional show responded.
�I think it has a semi-shot at being successful,� said another exhibitor who wanted the show to stay in Columbus. He said he will exhibit at Orlando.
�Ho hum. They should have done it three or four years ago,� said one member of the Fastener Hall of Fame. Once a frequent exhibitor, he said he does not plan to have a booth at either Las Vegas or Orlando.
In a letter to exhibitors, show management wrote that �an overwhelming majority� of exhibitors surveyed wanted to continue an East show.
�I can�t believe that an �overwhelming majority� wanted an Eastern show, but most of us that supported the Columbus show the last couple years see the advantage in a Midwest regional show,� said the marketing vice president for a company that would be noticeable for its absence if it does not exhibit. �Orlando makes no sense, and I cannot imagine that we will be there.
�Vegas is where it is at,� said one exhibitor who doubted the Orlando show would become a national event.
�I�m not sure how I feel about Orlando,� an Ohio exhibitor said. �Sad, I guess. Columbus was always such a great show. I�m sorry they ruined it by starting Vegas. Now they are trying to correct that by moving from Columbus. Maybe it will work.�
�If it is to be moved anyway, okay,� an Ohio-based exhibitor lamented. �Of course, it�s not a �home� show for us now.�
�I think the Orlando idea is a good one; however, I will not exhibit at both shows,� said one Chicago manufacturer who doesn�t ship many products to the Southeast. �I will probably go to Vegas. However, I am not going this year. We are extremely busy, and the timing of that show, right before Thanksgiving, is difficult.
We don’t really need this show, a Mid-Atlantic-based exhibitor said of Orlando.
They [show owners] want to double their profits with two shows. What they give back is two lesser shows instead of the grand industrywide gathering that Columbus once was.
Having a national show in Orlando is a pretty good idea, said one marketing manager who has worked in booths for two different companies over the years. Orlando is relatively inexpensive to fly in and out of compared to Columbus. I am still not sold on the idea that we need two national shows, but having one in Nevada and one Florida is a good option.
I think it is worth a try to change the venue and region of the country. I have suggested several times that Vegas be the larger show every year, and the spring show should move to a different region every year.
I would favor one major show each year moving between the East and West. It will certainly be interesting to see if it [Orlando] is more than a regional show, as Columbus was. I am not sure at all how Orlando will work, but we will approach it like a regional show.
Several expressed a wait and see attitude about exhibiting at the first Orlando show. We have not decided on displaying at the show  but we will certainly attend.
As Las Vegas grew and Columbus attendance shrunk, many companies first cut the size of their Columbus booths. Then some just registered to attend for $25 instead of spending thousands of dollars to exhibit. I can see as many people as I need to just walking the aisles, one former multiple-booth exhibitor found.
In addition to exhibiting at fastener trade shows, many suppliers travel to regional and national association conferences and such related shows as the Industrial Distribution and the National Hardware Show. I am away from home six out of 10 weeks now. If I can make a profit, I’ll go seven. But I don’t like being away from home and family that much.
Many exhibitors have complained about the entertainment distractions in Las Vegas. Floor traffic at the 2001 West show plummeted by lunchtime and exhibitors expressed concern that Orlando has just as many distractions. Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios and sunny weather are among the attractions luring distributors away from the convention floor.
Will they be coming to do business or taking a write-off Disney family vacation? one asked.
Increasing Costs
Show management has not announced booth prices, but exhibitors complain about multiple shows increasing marketing costs when budgets are under intense pressure.
The multiple national shows indicate show management is not a partner in the fastener supply chain, one observer noted. One annual national show alternating locations would be cutting costs. Two annual national shows is adding costs.
Will they be charging national prices twice a year for two regional shows? one potential exhibitor for both the West and East shows asked.
National show booth rates have been about $1,595. With flight costs, booth furniture, hotels, time out of the office, etc., few exhibitors get by for less than $5,000 for a single booth. Many spend five figures per show.
Recent regional shows have ranged from $100 to $800. Exhibitors usually spend less on booths, and hotels are frequently less expensive for the smaller events. Distributor traffic is generally much lower at regional shows.
In their announcement the show promoters emphasize the regional focus of the Orlando show by naming nine Southeastern target states.
With the fastener industry centered in the Midwest, one exhibitor noted that costs would go up. We can’t drive to it now, one complained.
NIFS Frustrates Associations
In the spring of 2001 the Fastener Industry Coalition asked National Industrial Fastener Show management for a five-year schedule so industry associations could plan around the show dates. At a meeting last month several FIC members expressed frustration that Bannister and McGuire have still not provided a long-term schedule.
Fastener associations have had to schedule events based only on observations. Both the Chicago and the every-other-year Southwestern Fastener Expo switched from autumn shows to spring as the May Columbus show declined and the November Las Vegas show grew.
FIC secretariat Dave Merrifield of the NFDA wrote to Bannister and McGuire earlier this month that there is considerable concern by the members regarding the future dates and locations of both the East and West shows.
Schedule conflicts of major fastener events are disruptive and a detriment to the industry, as well as to the organizations sponsoring and/or conducting them, Merrifield wrote for the FIC.
The Orlando news release stated management is hopeful that we will gain the enthusiastic backing of the Southeastern Fastener Association, but a SEFA official said they have not been contacted. Southeastern’s spring conference and tabletop show is March 20-22, 2003, in Atlanta.
Several FIC members were particularly disturbed that Bannister and McGuire scheduled their 2003 Las Vegas show during the same days as the 2003 Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association’s 27th annual convention. One person noted that Bannister claimed he could not get out of the 2003 Las Vegas conflict, yet he can change from Columbus to Orlando next year when he wants to.
Bannister, who complained in 1994 about a manufacturing-oriented show being scheduled within two weeks of the distribution-oriented Columbus show, has now moved the East show date closer to the Chicago Expo than the show had been scheduled in Columbus. Orlando now starts 16 days after the Chicago show.
CBNSA, Southeastern and STAFDA are members of the coalition.

2002 FastenerNews.com