Clash of the Trade Shows
Déjà vu - It's a little bit like all those scenes in the movie "Groundhog Day," where Bill Murray wakes up over and over again to "I've Got You Babe" on his alarm radio, forced relive the same day over and over again until he finally gets it right. Flashback to mid-2006: UMB announced that they were launching a European version of their popular Informex show, bringing it into direct competition with the established Chemspec Europe.
While the Informex Europe never panned out, the tables have now turned: Quartz Business Media, owners of the Chemspec brand, are launching a U.S. version of their show, set to take place in May 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa., three months after the Informex's February show in Charlotte, NC. For exhibitors and visitors alike, this means two major shows catering to the fine, custom and specialty chemicals market within three months of each other on the U.S. East coast.
Steve Diprose, vice president at Quartz Business Media, said his team is responding to industry demand for an alternative show in the U.S., but also said they recognize that element of competition that the move is bringing into the market.
"It is uncertain ... whether the U.S. will sustain two shows of similar scale operating annually," he said. "That is for the market to decide in the fullness of time."
Jennifer Jessup, brand director for Informex, sees the added competition as healthy, and said that UBM constantly monitors event feedback, market trends and developments into order to "deliver unique show content that is educational, informative and relevant to our audience."
Competition, she says, "keeps everyone on their toes and deters complacency."
Brandi Schuster asked both Jessup and Diprose on what a Chemspec USA show means for their businesses in 2011.
'Keeps Everyone On Their Toes'
Jennifer Jessup, brand director - Informex, says already 300 exhibitors have confirmed their attendance at next year's show in Charlotte, NC, and has seen no direct impact from the Chemspec USA. "We view competition as healthy," she says.
CHEManager Europe: Chemspec has planned a USA show for May 2011, which brings back memories of Informex's failed attempt to enter the European tradeshow market a few years ago. How do you see this move?
J. Jessup: We view competition as healthy - it keeps everyone on their toes and deters complacency. We constantly monitor event feedback, market trends and developments and deliver unique show content that is educational, informative and relevant to our audience. Since the economic downturn, we have seen both exhibitors' and attendees' budgets tighten, so a trade show and networking event needs to deliver more than ever before to prove its value. We have great relationships with the chemical industry, and we listen to what they want out of the event, and then most importantly, act on their feedback.
As you correctly state, we know ourselves the difficulties of trying to launch an event in a marketplace that already hosts a well established event.
The Chemspec show is slated to take place exactly three months after the Informex USA show in North Carolina. Do you expect this to have an effect on visitor and/or exhibitor numbers?
J. Jessup: We certainly haven't experienced any fall off in the number of exhibitor bookings to date and, in fact, next year's Charlotte event continues to break records. Around 64% of space is now taken, and booth sales are up by 12%, both significant increases over last year and undoubtedly a sign of confidence in our offering.
We have over 300 exhibitors already confirmed, and we had more exhibitors rebook onsite in 2010 than ever before. Key exhibitors, including Albemarle, BASF, Solvay, Lonza, Evonik and SAFC have all renewed, so we are very confident of achieving our target of 500. FutureFuel, Johnson Matthey, Saltigo, Dottikon, Myriant Technologies and Cherokee Pharma are just a few of the exhibitors who have booked larger booths to expand their presence in 2011.
As for visitor numbers, it's a little too early to comment as registration doesn't open until Aug. 2, but with the strong booking levels, high visitor satisfaction results from our 2010 post show survey and market feedback on content, pricing and venue, we are confident that the Charlotte event will attract excellent visitor levels.
The ChemspecUSA is to take place in Philadelphia. According to Quartz Media, part of the reasoning behind the decision to host there was the fact that 60% of Socma member companies are within 100 miles of the city. As the Informex is produced in conjunction with the society, what is your take on this statement?
J. Jessup: Philadelphia is a great city to host a show. However from our perspective there are two main deterrents: the weather in Philadelphia in February, and the high cost of labor and associated costs with building stands. As Philadelphia is a strong union city, contractor rates are high and the city is consistently shown in polls to be one of the most expensive in the U.S. to host an event. Moreover, the decision to hold the 2011 Informex in Charlotte was based on a market poll that we conducted to select the most preferred venue for next year's show, which included all participating Socma members, with Charlotte coming out on top. Many felt that the travel, labor and accommodation costs on the West coast had become prohibitive and it is this feedback that led us to move the event.
In addition to the cost advantages, we believe that Charlotte is a great venue for our high value chemicals market - North Carolina is the fourth largest chemical producer in the U.S. and is a leader in the plastics, rubber and related chemical industries with over 424 companies in the state and in the last 10 years, North Carolina has increased employment by 87%.
Charlotte is not only a home to eight Fortune 500 companies with industries ranging from automotive retailing to aerospace, it is also a draw for biotech services, with 759 bioscience companies located in the Charlotte area. The new $1.5 billion North Carolina Research Campus is a hub for biotechnology, sciences, and medicine, luring more 40,000 jobs to the area. Charlotte's diverse economy is complemented by countless amenities including Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the nation's ninth busiest airport with over 650 daily flights to more than 125 destinations.
What is the unique selling point for the Informex USA?
J. Jessup: We have many USPs. Informex is now in its 27th year as the leading North American trade show and networking event for fine and specialty chemicals. Over that time, we have evolved the show in line with market requirements and the specific needs of our visitors and exhibitors. The event is established and proven to be successful, and we consistently deliver on our promises.
Additionally, Informex is a U.S. show, run by a dedicated U.S. team based in Princeton, NJ, with vast knowledge of the U.S. market, its requirements and trade show organization. We are also the only event with an official partnership with a major trade organization in Socma and also have strong relationships with the American Chemical Society, who manage and produce our Show Daily publication, while UBM's relationship with the Drug, Chemical & Allied Trades Association is demonstrated annually when they host their lunch at our sister CPhI Worldwide event.
Are there any plans for a new attempt to introduce the Informex brand into the European market?
J. Jessup: We constantly monitor feedback from our exhibitors, visitors and our industry advisory board and, as part of this process, are constantly looking at ways in which we can expand the Informex brand both geographically and virtually.
'The Right Time'
Steve Diprose, vice president at Quartz Business Media, which owns the Chemspec brand, says industry leaders have encouraged him to launch the show in the U.S. Also, with improved contacts in the States, Diprose says, "The time seemed right to offer an alternative."
CHEManager Europe: According to your website, the Chemspec USA is "a direct response to feedback from the industry which has indicated the need for an alternative event in North America." Alternative to the Informex, that is, which has established itself as the leading fine chemical show in the U.S. over the last 26 years. What were the specifics from the industry regarding the need for a new show in the States?
S. Diprose: Over the years, Chemspec has established itself as the premier exhibition and networking event for the fine and speciality chemicals industry. The European show celebrates its 25th anniversary in Berlin this year, while Chemspec India is also very well established. The U.S. was always an obvious target but, for many years, was so well served by Informex that there did not seem to be any value we could add.
In recent years, however, many people within the industry feel that Informex has lost its way. There is a general feeling that it is not the networking event that it used to be, that visitor numbers and quality are not as good as they were, that budgets - for catering, for example - are being trimmed back to save costs, and that it does not serve the industry as well as it used to.
Some very senior industry figures - I cannot obviously name them, but most would be familiar to anyone in the industry - have come up to us and, without being asked, have said, "You should launch Chemspec in the States; we would support it." We also now have Ben Jones, formerly of the American Chemical Society (ACS), working with us in the U.S. market and have improved our contacts immeasurably. So all in all, the time seemed right to offer an alternative.
Informex tried to move in on Chemspec territory a few years ago when it attempted to launch the Informex Europe. This fell flat due to a lack of exhibitors. What is your plan to make sure that Chemspec USA doesn't succumb to the same fate?
S. Diprose: You need to be careful about making comparisons here. When UBM acquired Informex from Socma, they paid a premium price of nearly $24 million - and basically sought to recover their high investment by driving all competition out of the market and launching the Informex brand world-wide.
To do this meant, effectively, killing off Chemspec. That would have left the whole market for fine and custom chemicals exhibitions as a one-company monopoly via the CPhI and Informex brands. Clearly, the market did not want that to happen, plus it was felt that Informex was a U.S.-centric brand. As a result, Informex Europe had virtually no exhibitors signed up.
We, on the other hand, are not seeking a monopoly. CPhI Worldwide will still be a much larger event than any of the Chemspec or Informex shows. What we are trying to do is offer an alternative in a market that needs one and is asking for one. We are working to make Chemspec USA what it is already in Europe and India: The key networking event offering high quality content within the fine and speciality chemicals space.
It is still a year out, so this is still work in progress, but we have already, for instance lined up Seifi Ghasemi, CEO of Rockwood Holdings, and Dr. Tom Connelly, chief innovation officer of DuPont, as keynote speakers. We will also work with some of the same partners we work with in Chemspec Europe, such as the Scientific Update and ReachReady to deliver content across a wide range of subjects for the day before the exhibition opens and on the exhibition floor during the open days. We are also working with the ACS, who will host some of their short courses alongside Chemspec USA.
Regarding the location as Philadelphia for the show - your website states that 60% of Socma member companies are within 100 miles of the city. The Informex is produced in conjunction with the society - is this an outright call for a showdown between the Informex and Chemspec? What is the unique selling point for the Chemspec USA?
S. Diprose: No, it is not a call for a showdown. We have good relations with Socma, who have for many years had their own booth at Chemspec Europe and will again this year in Berlin, and it is our intention to maintain those positive relationships.
We mention that 60% of Socma members are within 100 miles of Philadelphia for the same reason that we mention that 27% of ACS members are for the same reason: to highlight the attraction of Philadelphia as a venue for a two-day fine and speciality chemicals show.
Traditionally, Informex has been held as (effectively) a week-long convention in a warm location, enabling an industry that is mostly based on the East Coast and the Midwest to get away from the depths of winter for a bit.
However, we believe that launching Chemspec in the heart of the industry offers a real alternative in terms of attracting the kind of visitor who either is not ready to go away for more than a couple of days to a show or simply does not have the budget to take flights and stay in hotels. There are many such potential visitors within an easy drive or train ride from Philadelphia and it is these who we will be seeking to deliver to the show.
How do you think the proximity of the shows - both in terms of time and location - will affect visitor and exhibitor numbers on both sides? How do you plan on positioning your show within the American trade show landscape?
S. Diprose: They are not actually that close to each other. Charlotte and Philadelphia are both on the East Coast, but the U.S. is a big place and they are still a 1.5 hour flight apart, not to mention that the shows are nearly three months apart in time.
We believe that locating in the heart of the custom chemical and pharmaceutical sectors we can attract some of the many companies that are still not being reached by large-scale events in the U.S., both as exhibitors and visitors. Of course we recognize that we will be competing with Informex for both and it is uncertain, to put it no stronger, whether the U.S. will sustain two shows of similar scale operating annually.
That is for the market to decide in the fullness of time.
