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December 11, 2019 03:10 PM

Rubber Expo heads to Pittsburgh for 2021, 2023

Bruce Meyer
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    Bruce Meyer, Rubber & Plastics News
    Rubber Division officials and guests get ready to cut the ribbon to open the exhibition floor at the recent International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland.

    FAIRLAWN, Ohio—It will be awhile before the ACS Rubber Division stages its marquee event, the fall International Elastomer Conference, in Cleveland again.

    That's because the Rubber Division has signed a contract to hold its next two odd-year fall technical meeting and exhibitions in Pittsburgh, said Edward Miller, the association's executive director. The odd-year IECs typically are the larger exhibitions, while the events held on the even years—formerly called "mini-expos"—are smaller with less attendees.

    In recent years, the Rubber Division has held all of the odd-year conferences and expos in Cleveland, with the even-year sessions moved around to different venues. But Miller said the division will hold its IEC in Pittsburgh in both 2021 and 2023, with the fall 2021 event scheduled for Oct. 5-7 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

    Miller, who is retiring from his post in mid-January after 19 years as executive director, said the venue change is all about having to negotiate contracts. And that doesn't mean Cleveland won't be in the mix for fall IEC events in the future. Miller said he, Lakisha Miller-Barclay—who will succeed Miller as executive director—and Beth Berkheimer, exposition and future sites director, met with representatives of Positively Cleveland shortly before the recent IEC in October.

    "We made it very clear that Cleveland is really a great place," Miller said. "It's shown to be a great place for the odd-year IECs. It brings in the most attendance. It's easy for a lot of the industry to get to because it's so close.

    "We explained that we'd like to take a look again at negotiating contracts again with Cleveland. My personal belief is I love Pittsburgh too. It's a great venue. But I think facts are facts. Attendance is better in Cleveland because of the Northeast Ohio region."

    Pittsburgh last hosted the odd-year expo in 2009, and both attendance and exhibitors were down sharply that year, he said, because of the Great Recession. The city hosted a successful even-year IEC in 2016.

    Miller said in general the fall expos have rebounded nicely since the time of the recession. "They've come back," he said. "Nothing's ever going to be like it was in the 1980s and 1990s. That was a different rubber industry. But for the rubber industry today, considering where the industry was in the 2008-10 era and where it is today, it has evolved tremendously."

    From an exhibit standpoint, Miller said the IECs are about where they were in 2007, while attendance is close. Realistically, an odd-year IEC can expect about 5,000 attendees, compared to about 3,900 to 4,000 during the recession, he said shortly prior to this year's event.

    "Hopefully we're bringing in the right people," he said. "I've never believed in quantity. I believe in quality, and that's not a cliche. If you have 100 people look at your booth but none are potential customers, it's a better audience if you have two who are absolutely potential customers."

    Erin Pustay Beaven, Rubber & Plastics News
    Lakisha Miller-Barclay, newly appointed executive director of the Rubber Division, thanks retiring Executive Director Ed Miller for his leadership and service.

    The final tally for this year's IEC had attendance right at 4,300, a bit below Miller's expectations, according to data released by the Rubber Division. That included 85 percent from the U.S., and the other 15 percent from 35 other countries, with the highest foreign turnout from Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Italy and India.

    There were 278 total exhibitors, 213 from the U.S. and 65 international booths representing 13 different countries.

    The even-year IEC meetings and exhibits also have shown growth in recent years, according to Miller. Started years ago with only 10-foot by 10-foot exhibit spaces with no equipment, over time the booths have been allowed to be larger and include equipment. Miller said those expos used to draw less than 2,000 attendees, but lately have been getting around 3,000.

    The 2020 IEC will be Oct. 20-22 in Knoxville, Tenn.

    As for the spring technical meetings, Miller said he would call them "stabilized." The division had task forces every four to five years during his tenure to determine if the association should continue the spring sessions, and the answer inevitably came back as "yes."

    The rationale was that it did offer an opportunity for technical speakers who otherwise might not be able to make the technical program at the larger IEC meetings. He said the spring sessions also are easier to move around the country, and also offer a solid venue to hold the Science and Technology Awards, something that may be difficult to fit into a crowded IEC agenda.

    Going back a number of years, the spring technical meetings drew about 400, but that has fallen to about 200-220, according to Miller. "But that's fine," he said. "It's a small, technical conference. It's not an International Elastomer Conference. And I'm very comfortable with that. It's not like we wouldn't like to do better, but it's still a good program."

    The Rubber Division will host its Spring 2020 Technical Meeting April 28-30 in Independence, Ohio.

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