NPE 2003 is just around the corner - really - and if you need proof, just note that the three-day drawing for exhibit space wrapped up March 7 in Chicago.
According to the unaudited results, 906 exhibitors were assigned 965,000 square feet of space for the show, which is scheduled for June 23-27, 2003, in Chicago's McCormick Place. The show is sponsored by the Washington-based Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.
Those figures are down slightly from the official space-drawing results for the 2000 show, when 1,032 exhibitors drew 1,039,300 square feet of space. The biggest difference this year is that some companies that are not SPI members and never have exhibited at NPE have not reserved space for the 2003 show, according to show manager Barbara Voss.
``Because of the economic climate, they're taking a wait-and-see attitude,'' Voss said.
SPI officials said they are pleased with the results and they expect the final exhibitor numbers to be much higher. The 2000 show featured more than 2,000 exhibitors.