NPE2015 sets new records with double-digit growth in international participation

NPE2015 ended another successful edition but this time, the figures are even better. Official statistics from SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, founder and producer of NPE: The International Plastics Showcase, showed that the event, which took place on March 23-27 in Orlando, Florida had 2,029 exhibitors. These exhibitors occupied over 1,128,200 net square feet (104,813 sq.m) of exhibit space—exceeding the previous records of 2,009 exhibitors and 1,041,000 net square feet (96,712 sq.m) set in 2000. 

 

Anoher record is the registered attendance which recached 65,810, 19% greater than three years ago. These registrants came from 23,396 unique companies, 22% more than the 19,198 companies at NPE2012—representing a substantial increase in buying potential. 

 

 

International participation also set new NPE records with nearly 44% of exhibiting companies and 26% of registrants coming from outside the United States. Nearly 5,000 registrants were from Latin America alone. 

Exhibitors came from 37 nations in all. In descending order of number of exhibitors, the ten largest participating countries are China, Taiwan, Canada, Italy, Germany, India, Turkey, France, Switzerland, and South Korea. These figures don’t include many companies that are based in other countries but exhibited through their US subsidiaries. 

 

SPI president and CEO William R. (Bill) Carteaux stated that NPE2015 is the most successful NPE by many measures. “What made NPE2015 a milestone in the 69-year history of NPE was not only its size and international diversity, but also the richness of its offerings to attendees,” according to Mr. Carteaux. The hundreds of machines operating on the show floor, the customer service centers provided by material suppliers, the pavilions and programs on current issues and emerging technologies, the extensive agenda of co-located conferences, all these surpassed the previous shows providing guidelines for making future NPEs even more attractive to participants.  

 

NPE2018 will take place Monday through Friday, May 7-11, 2018, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.