NACE Tops 30,000 Mark Again!
Total attendance at the 1995 International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) topped the 30,000 mark for the second consecutive year. Total attendance at the four-day event, held last month in New Orleans, was 31,100.
"These outstanding attendance figures prove that NACE delivers when it comes to buying, selling and learning about the latest in the collision repair world," said G.W. "Bud" Merwin III, Automotive Service Association (ASA) president and chief staff executive.
ASA is the sole sponsor of NACE. Though NACE '95 numbers were down from the 35,800 NACE total in 1994, that '94 total reflected a huge 43 percent increase over the 1993 figure of 25,113. NACE 1996 will be held Nov. 7-10 in Orlando, Fla.
At the closing NACE '95 press conference, Galen Poss, NACE show director, said he is "very happy" with the numbers and attributes the huge increase NACE experienced at Las Vegas in 1994 to the comparative dip with 1995 numbers.
Poss also explained why NACE is being held a month earlier in 1996. Poss said the date was set four to six years ago, well before the 1996 date for Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW) was set for Nov. 5-8. Poss said AAIW contacted NACE about the timing conflict, and though every attempt was made, adjustments were not practical.
Poss also addressed the prospects for the 1996 Northern Autobody Congress and Exposition to be held at Chicago's Navy Pier May 30 to June 1. About 400 booths are currently reserved for the event, and this number could reach the 625 to 675 booth range by show time, said Poss.
Poss emphasized that while NACE and the Northern Autobody event have the same sponsor - ASA - they are targeted at different audiences. The Northern Autobody show hopes to attract collision repair shop owners and shop employees from the Midwest, many who do not get to NACE or to smaller state events. Poss said there is also the potential for the Northern Autobody event to act as a "farm club" for NACE by giving Northern Autobody attendees who've never been to NACE a "taste" of what NACE is like.
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 1, January 1996