Washington — The organizer of the NPE trade show reports that a record number of companies selected space for the 2018 show in a recently concluded pre-draw process.
NPE2018 is scheduled for May 7-11, 2018, in Orlando, Fla.
In the pre-draw, long-time exhibitors were able to pick their spaces on the NPE2018 expo floor. According to the Washington-based Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., 81 SPI member companies selected a record 243,700 square feet of exhibit space during the pre-draw. That's up 11 percent, or 27,000 square feet, over the NPE2015 pre-draw, which held the previous record in the 80-year history of NPE.
“Every three years, when NPE takes place, it has a measurable impact on the economy,” said SPI President and CEO Bill Carteaux, in a news release. “The fact that more plastics companies than ever before are taking up more floor space, and doing so this early in the game, is an indication that the plastics industry is optimistic about its future prospects for growth on a global scale.”
SPI hosted the NPE2018 pre-draw lottery on June 7 at its Washington office. The event determined the order by which SPI member companies with a 15-show history or higher (and their affiliates) could select exhibit space.
Applications for the full space draw — for SPI member companies with less than a 15-show history, and all non-SPI member companies — will be available starting Sept. 6 at www.npe.org and are due on Nov. 18.
The full space draw lottery will be held March 20-22, 2017, at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.