New Records Made at Second Biennial ICE USA
BURLINGTON, MA—April 25, 2013—More than 4,500 converting professionals from 45 states and 44 countries filled the aisles at ICE USA 2013 in Orlando, FL, April 9-11, to see all the latest equipment and technologies on display from 345 exhibiting companies.
These results represented an increase of 10 percent more attendees and exhibitors over the inaugural 2011 event and reinforced ICE USA's position as the largest converting-focused show in North America. This year's show floor was also 35 percent larger as 120 first-time exhibitors joined the returning exhibiting companies in taking larger space to showcase running equipment.
Significant growth also occurred on the conference side of the event where more than 500 converting professionals attended the pre-show seminars presented by five industry-leading organizations and the ICE USA Conference sponsored by AIMCAL. Three well-attended keynote presentations also added to the success of the 2013 educational offerings.
"We are very pleased with the growth of ICE USA," expressed Bob Chiricosta, show director, "but we are even more excited about the quality of the attendees." Chiricosta reported that many of the exhibitors told him how pleased they were with the decision-making level of the attendees and both the number and quality of the sales leads. Several exhibitors sold equipment on the show floor.
Many attendees came to see the abundance of operating machinery on display from such leading companies as Kroenert, Ashe, Nordson, New Era, Accuweb, Davis-Standard, Catbridge and many more.
Bob Pasquale, president of New Era Converting Machinery commented on the importance of bringing operating machinery to the show. “We think for a show like this, it’s important to have a lot of machinery on the floor so that customers can see what we do and how our machines run,” he said.
"ICE USA's reputation as a machinery show continues to grow," Chiricosta emphasized. "We are now second only to the well-established ICE Europe in size and we're growing fast."
The benefits of exhibiting at ICE USA extend beyond just having running machinery for many exhibitors. John A. Ferreira, vice president of Comexi North America highlighted a focus for Comexi at ICE USA. “We are really excited about the new training center we are establishing in Spain, and ICE USA serves as a great avenue to promote the center,” he said. Ferreira went on to add that ICE USA is also a good barometer for his business. He noted, “We’ve had really great visits at the show and discovered some projects that we were not aware of prior to the event.”
Italian manufacturer Laem System SRL decided to expand its presence in North America a few years ago and determined ICE USA was the perfect venue to introduce its TR4 heavy-duty, dual-shaft slitter rewinder. “We are seeing great interest in the winding technology and the many special features of the TR4 series,” said Davide Malki, managing director at Laem System SRL.
The next ICE USA will be held in Orlando, FL, February 10-12, 2015.
About Mack Brooks
ICE USA is organized by Mack Brooks, a subsidiary of the Mack Brooks Exhibition Group based in St. Albans, UK, which has branches and partner companies in France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Russia, India, China and the United States. The Mack Brooks Exhibitions Group has been organizing industrial trade fairs around the world for almost 50 years. As a privately owned, independent and professional show organizer, the company organizes a program of highly specialized trade exhibitions throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, in the fields of engineering, transport, metalworking, information technology, textiles, food and beverages, railways, construction, tunneling, printing, converting, airport management and aviation. The Group also publishes related directories, magazines, sector reports and internet sites.
