Where do we go from here?
This is hard for me to say, but this year’s CMM Intl. was almost like "what if they put on a show and nobody came." Visitor attendance was anemic at best, busiest on Tuesday and dwindling to nearly no one on Thursday (despite the crowd that showed up to see who would win the smartcar). The conference sessions were often equally empty, although a few were well attended.
Downside impacts: Of course, it doesn’t help that the US economy is still contracting at -6%; or that companies just don’t send as many people to shows as they used to; or that the number of CMM exhibitors was down by 50%; or that running machines were few and far between; or that the industry as a whole has certainly consolidated even further since the CMMs of old.
Upside impacts: Show organizer PennWell probably did more promotion in the past two years for this CMM than any previous owner EVER (see CMM Online Website, blogs, regular eNewsletters, the CMM Live! virtual show, etc.). There were constant machine demos by the likes of Totani America, Las-X, PRECO, Delta Industrial, Videojet/Scantech and others as well as numerous components and accessories makers. There were ancillary events leading up to opening day and running concurrently such as the CMM/DFI Scholarship Golf Outing and Maxcess University Conference Week.
But it wasn’t enough. Now, I’m not about to rehash the argument that’s been made back and forth for years about the viability of trade shows in general. It’s a dead horse that’s been beaten too much already.
What I do want to argue for, however, is how vitally important it is that the converting industry have some kind of standalone event all for itself. Maybe that’s not CMM anymore. Maybe not in the current format of a traditional multi-day trade show and conference. Yes, I know there are alternatives, but CPP EXPO can get lost inside PACK EXPO, and converting is not just packaging. Pack Print is being launched at PRINT 09, but converting is more than printing. Some might suggest INFO*FLEX. Boy, converting is more than flexography. I even heard comments that maybe NPE should incorporate CMM, but converting is way more than plastics.
CMM needs to re-invent itself (and pronto), create real excitement that interests and benefits all segments of the industry. If not, what’s the point? Another edition of CMM is history. Let’s hope that CMM itself isn’t history.
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Stephanie Tuggle commented:
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