ORLANDO, FLA. (Feb. 24, 1 p.m. ET) — The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. is anticipating a banner year for NPE2012 based on registration numbers and purchased exhibitor space.

In its new Orlando County Convention Center location, 1,830 companies have purchased 903,000 square feet of exhibit space for the triennial exhibition with five weeks remaining until opening day.

Visitor registration numbers are ahead of NPE2009 figures by 10 percent and NPE2006 figures by 8 percent based on the same number of weeks before the event.

Participants can continue registering up to the show or onsite, though prices will jump February 29 when early bird registration peters out.

Room reservations have experienced a jump of 56 percent, up from 32,000 total room nights in 2009 to nearly 50,000 room nights thus far. Gene Sanders, SPI’s senior vice president of trade shows and conferences, said these numbers indicate not only more visitors but longer stays, which is no surprise given the sunny locale.

Twenty-six percent of registrations have come from outside the United States, indicating an 18 percent jump of international participants from NPE2009’s showing. Half of the international registrations have come from Latin America.

“There will be more participation by resin manufacturers than we’ve seen in the last four or five NPEs, as these companies exhibit, host customer service centers or sponsor special interest initiatives such as our design competition,” Sanders said.

Further, Sanders said the 35 largest exhibitors at NPE2012 average 20 percent more equipment than they displayed in 2009.

“Companies with a need to know about plastics cannot afford to miss the opportunities provided by NPE to discover new technologies and make business connections,” Sanders said. “That’s why we expect the number of unique companies coming to NPE2012 to be comparable to the historic highs for NPE.”