Labelexpo 2012 Boasts New Record
- Published: September 24, 2012, By Yolanda Simonsis
LONDON, UK | It seems the UK just can’t seem to get out of the Olympic mentality. Labelexpo Americas 2012, Tarsus production staged near Chicago, IL, in the US, attracted a record-breaking attendance of 14,335 label and package printing professionals as it returned to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Ctr., Rosemont, IL, between September 11—13. Tarsus claims attendance was up by over 12% on 2010’s edition, and it was a new record for America’s largest label converting show since the show was first held in 1989.
Featuring well over 100 new product launches including presses, inks, and substrates, the exhibition and conference program occupied 185,000 sq ft, which was up 8.5% over the previous show. It also boasted 400 local and international exhibitors, including 94 companies which were participating for the first time. By the time the exhibition closed, the show organizers reported that 81.44% of booth space for the 2014 edition had already been booked.
A high end conference program, accommodating over 1,000 attendees, featured presentations on a broad variety of topics including global trends, nanographic printing, digital business models, the environment, security solutions for brand protection, and the future of flexo printing.
Labelexpo Americas 2012 also saw the debut of several new feature areas. The Package Printing Workshop showcased the opportunities digital prepress and printing can bring to folding carton production, plastic bucket decoration, and high quality tubes. The Laser Die Cutting Workshop also ran daily comparisons designed to showcase effective and affordable solutions to help deal with jobs or client demands where run lengths have decreased, label variations have increased, and demand for label personalization has grown.
Better environmental awareness was also emphasized with the introduction of new feature area, called Ecovillage, and in a printing industry first, the waste matrix from press demonstrations and feature areas was collected for recycling. With the help of Greenwood Fuels and Channeled Resources, 42,200 lb of waste matrix was collected and compacted ready to be turned into fuel pellets.
Labelexpo managing director Roger Pellow said: “We would like to thank the TLMI, our exhibitors and show visitors for their unfailing support in helping make Labelexpo Americas 2012 so hugely successful. As we saw at Labelexpo Europe and Asia last year, the market appears to be recovering with converters and printers investing in new technology and materials.”
Pellows continued: “This year’s show exceeded all expectations. The exhibitors and attendees that I spoke to were all enthusiastic about the exhibition and what it offered them in terms of value for their business whether it be educational content or buying, selling and networking opportunities. The show floor had a vibrant atmosphere as business was being done and initial feedback suggests that many presses were sold to buyers from North and South America and even Asia. As the largest show in the Americas, there really is no better place to see the latest technology in action and find out how to maximize new opportunities for growth and success.”
