Labelexpo Americas 2012 Smashes Attendance Records
CHICAGO—September 24, 2012—Labelexpo Americas 2012 attracted a record attendance of 14,335 label and package printing professionals as it returned to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL near Chicago, between September 11-13. Up by over 12 percent on 2010’s edition, it was a new record for America’s largest label converting show since first being held in 1989.
Featuring well over 100 new product launches including presses, inks and substrates, the exhibition and conference program occupied 185,000 square feet which was up 8.5 percent on the previous edition’s size. It also boasted 400 local and international exhibitors including 94 companies which were participating for the first time. By the time the exhibition closed, the show organizers reported that 81.44 percent of stand space for the 2014 edition had already been booked.
As well as being a valuable platform for demonstrating the latest working machinery where attendees can see, learn about and source products in one place, Labelexpo Americas also provided visitors with an informative, high end conference program. More than 1,000 delegates attended presentations on a broad variety of topics including global trends, nanographic printing, digital business models, the environment, security solutions for brand protection and the future of flexo printing.
Labelexpo Americas 2012 also saw the debut of several new feature areas. The Package Printing Workshop showcased the opportunities digital pre-press and printing can bring to folding carton production, plastic bucket decoration and high quality tubes. The Laser Die Cutting Workshop also ran daily comparisons designed to showcase effective and affordable solutions to help deal with jobs or client demands where run lengths have decreased, label variations have increased and demand for label personalization has grown.
Better environmental awareness was also high on the agenda at Labelexpo Americas 2012 with the introduction of new feature area Ecovillage and in a printing industry first, the waste matrix from press demonstrations and feature areas was collected for recycling. With the help of Greenwood Fuels and Channeled Resources, 42,200lbs of waste matrix was collected and compacted ready to be turned into fuel pellets.
“We would like to thank the TLMI, our exhibitors and show visitors for their unfailing support in helping make Labelexpo Americas 2012 so hugely successful," said Labelexpo managing director Roger Pellow. "As we saw at Labelexpo Europe and Asia last year, the market appears to be recovering with converters and printers investing in new technology and materials.”
Pellow's also adds that this year’s show exceeded all expectations. "The exhibitors and attendees that I spoke to were all enthusiastic about the exhibition and what it offered them in terms of value for their business whether it be educational content or buying, selling and networking opportunities. The show floor had a vibrant atmosphere as business was being done and initial feedback suggests that many presses were sold to buyers from North and South America and even Asia. As the largest show in the Americas, there really is no better place to see the latest technology in action and find out how to maximize new opportunities for growth and success.”
Source: Labelexpo Americas.
