Global Fastener News

IFE Trade Show Postponed

John Wolz

Reed Exhibition Companies officially postponed its International Fastener & Precision Formed Parts Manufacturing Expo.
The postponement without a future date announcement comes only four months after two fastener organizations started a competing show.
IFE had been scheduled in April 2001 in Rosemont, IL.
In February the Industrial Fasteners Institute and the International Fastener Machinery Association announced they would jointly create Industrial Fastener & Forming International Exhibition & Conference. The first IFFI will be June 4-7, 2001, at the Cleveland Convention Center.
Many machinery suppliers are members of IFMA and many potential expo attendees are IFI members. That gave the new show clout and exhibit space sold so fast the initial floorplan had to be expanded.
Insiders say the postponement is in effect a cancellation unless IFFI fails to draw sufficient high quality attendees to satisfy exhibitors. That keeps pressure on the IFI to bring in members and draw non-member attendees to the show. A poor turnout would give Norwalk, CT-based Reed an opening to do a 2003 show.
“Attendee research from the last IFE event indicated that there were already too many industry events and IFE would need to broaden its appeal to reach new markets,” Reed vice president Kel Marsden-Kish explained. “Based on this, we will continue our efforts to seek synergistic opportunities and partnerships complimentary to plans to co-locate with QEI.”