5/25/2011 3:21:00 PM
HEADLINES
Goodbye Columbus: Record Lows End East Show
Show management confirmed 2011 was the last East version of the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo in Columbus, OH.
Booth numbers for NIFMSE/East dropped to another record low for the April 27, 2011, trade show. There were 53 companies totaling 55 booths – down from the previous record low of 74 booths in 2010. The 2009 show was cancelled.
The Columbus show had peaked at 653 booths in 1998.
The first show in 1981 drew 90 companies totaling 103 booths. The last 10 East shows have averaged 183 booths.
Total distributor registration for 2011 was 133 – down from 176 last year. The record was 1,753 in 1996.
The show, founded by Jim Bannister and Mike McGuire, was the largest industry gathering through the 1990s.
“We are baffled by the poor turnout,” show management stated. But exhibitors saw the end coming and quit going years ago.
Show management promoted Columbus as the “World’s Largest Fastener Show” from 1983 to 2000 when the West version in Las Vegas outgrew the original version.
The next NIFMS will be October 19-21, 2011, at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. Web: fastenershows.com
Editor’s Note: For the story of “How the Fastener Industry Discovered Columbus” go to Fastener History on GlobalFastenerNews.com.
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