U.S. Manufacturing Show Has Earlier Date for 2004

National Manufacturing Week, usually a March tradition in the U.S., will take place earlier than usual next year and include some changes recommended by a new advisory board.

The 2003 event had struggled with reduced attendance from both exhibitors and visitors. The event, featuring six distinct trade shows, is now scheduled for Feb. 23-26, 2004. The venue continues to be at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill.

Planning for 2004 is well underway, reports John Stuttard, industry vice-president, National Manufacturing Week. The event is a property of Reed Exhibitions. NMW 2004 will feature enhanced programming, marketing opportunities and conference sessions to attract new attendee segments, says Stuttard.

For 2004, NMW has convened an advisory board containing industry insiders from all functions of the manufacturing process. “The members of the board have been providing input, expertise and insight into the state of manufacturing,” says Peter Zezima, National Manufacturing Week’s group sales director. “We’ve been applying those insights into the 2004 National Manufacturing Week event and conference according to each function.”

Last year, some 1,500 companies presented new products and services to 29,021 industry professionals. The shows at NMW included the National Design Engineering Show; National Industrial Automation Show; National Enterprise IT Show; National Plant Engineering and Facility Management Show; the co-located CleanTech Expo; and making its debut in 2003, the Technology Transfer Conference and Expo.

“For many companies, simply finding ways to remain profitable continued to be the challenge,” says Stuttard of the 2003 event. “Despite a difficult couple of years for manufacturers and the economy in general, U.S. manufacturers sought competitive advantage through skills enhancement, knowledge, thought-leadership and sourcing those products and services from exhibiting companies to enable them to survive.”

The debut of the Technology Transfer Conference and Expo was well received as in-licensing and out-licensing of technology provided competitive advantage for all manufacturers. From technology licensors such as Caterpillar, NASA, DuPont, Boeing, IBM and Rockwell Scientific Technology Licensing Group, the concurrent technology transfer conference program enabled companies to learn first-hand how to best harness new and established technologies to improve their processes and businesses. This event will continue for the 2004 event with expanded educational sessions and exhibitors.

“For 2004, we will continue to invest in our marketing efforts through the deployment of an integrated marketing plan,” says Zezima.

National Manufacturing Week also has announced that its brand has been cloned so that it can offer a series of regional design and plant shows in key markets — such as Minneapolis, San Diego, and Greenville, South Carolina.

For more information about exhibiting in the 2004 event, contact Peter Zezima at 203-840-5568 or pzezima@reedexpo.com. For information on visiting NMW 2004, visit www.manufacturingweek.com or call 800-840-0678, or write National Manufacturing Week, 383 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06851.