The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. will sponsor a new annual trade show focusing on the nuts and bolts of the industry — maintenance, repair and operations products and services.
SPI announced Aug. 13 that the new event, MRO Expo, will be held June 8-9, 2016 in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Ill., near O'Hare International Airport.
MRO Expo, produced by the same team behind NPE, will be a new opportunity to showcase auxiliary equipment, mold components, replacement parts and primary equipment upgrades, as well as maintenance supplies and services that processors and manufacturers purchase frequently.
“We consulted our customer base and found there was a need to serve the MRO market on a more frequent basis than the triennial NPE,” said SPI President and CEO Bill Carteaux in a news release. “It's a one-stop shop for plastics manufacturers to research, specify, assess and price annual MRO equipment parts, supplies, software and services.”
The show will bring together primary equipment suppliers with their own after-sales MRO equipment, supplies and training, as well as smaller companies that focus on the ancillary machinery and services that keep operations running efficiently and safely.
SPI said the new venue is not only close to O'Hare airport, it is within driving distance for a large portion of the plastics manufacturing community.
Concurrent with the exhibits will be conferences on topics such as shop floor safety, preventive maintenance, production processes and systems, and production floor training.
Product categories and information on exhibiting are listed at www.MROexpo.org. SPI expects to begin attendee registration by mid-October.