SHOW NEWS: Extra Efforts Boost IFFI Results

John L. Wolz

Everyone saw it coming. The economy and attendance at other trades shows were down. Some production has moved from North America to China. Would fastener manufacturers spend money to send machinery buyers to the Industrial Fastener & Forming International exhibition and conference?
They did. Just not as many.
They came to the show in Rosemont, IL, because show management and exhibitors saw a potential problem and pitched in the get key people there.
�We�re smiling,� one exhibitor said. �We worked in advance to get our customers here. And the people that were here were serious.�
Exhibitors also cut costs by reducing booth staff and shipping fewer machines to the show. At 556 exhibitor staff was down 40% from the first IFFI in 2001.
Show management boosted attendance by welcoming attendees with free admission.
The free admission may have saved the show for some exhibitors. Five people from one Chicago manufacturer came to see a software upgrade demonstration at the Faspac booth and spent nearly two hours. If attendees had to pay $50 to enter the door, maybe only one would have come and Faspac would have had to make an additional outside sales call.
Show management�s marketing efforts pleased exhibitors even though the fastener attendance of 989 was down 41% from the last show in 2001. In addition to the fastener attendance the co-located Sensors Expo & Conference and International Robots & Vision Show upped the total to 1,773 or 6% higher than 2001.
IFFI show management reports real numbers because attendees pick up their badges at the show site and the results are not inflated with no-show advance registrations.
�Everybody could see they did everything they could,� one exhibitor observed.
�The final attendance numbers for IFFI reflect the current condition of the fastener industry,� show manager Jim Flanagan summarized. The number of exhibitors was down 30% and square footage dropped 25% from 2001.
The sponsors, the Industrial Fasteners Institute and the International Fastener Machinery Association, were �generally satisfied with the event,� Flanagan said. �We are pleased to have been able to have held a successful event and are planning to make adjustments that will make this event even more attractive in our new world environment.�
Despite exhibitors cutting costs overall, numerous booths kept showmanship in mind. National Machinery drew an audience with hourly big screen presentations. IMU USA returned with its bright yellow walls and shiny steel grid floor. Charter Steel�s booth drew eyes with wood trim, Beta Steel Group caught attendees walking the aisles with a stop sign and SASPI technicians worked in white coats. Several exhibitors built conference rooms. Far beyond the candy dish of domestic distribution shows, several exhibitors had catered treats that could even substitute for a meal.
Wafios AG of Germany and National Machinery had the biggest booths at 3,500 sq ft each. National unveiled its Formax FXP35S, a five-station boltmaker with vertical part capacity that sounded like a muted locomotive when running.
Wafios AG displayed 11 machines, including threaders and a wire cutter with chamfering capacity.
Fastener attendees also could see robots and sensors in action at the two co-located shows. A robot pitcher in a batting cage became the �Did you see �?� when they returned to the fastener show.
IFFI is an international gathering. There were accents in the aisles and some booths had multilingual signage.
At IFFI, suppliers want to sell the machines off the floor rather than spend thousands of dollars shipping them back to the shop. Cold Header Machine/McCullum Die posted a �Sold to Semblex� sign indicating the ultimate success.
The next IFFI is scheduled June 7-9, 2005, again at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. For information contact the Flanagan Group LLC, 8 Whispering Pine Dr., Milford, MA 01757-6801. Tel: 508 735-5411 Fax 954 697-2679 E-mail: jim@flanagangroup.net Web: flanagangroup.net �2003 FastenerNews.com\