At its 2003 Fall Meeting Oct. 26-29 in Washington, DC, members of the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI) reiterated support for one major, national, annual trade show for the building products industry. PMI encourages the sponsors of ISH/NA and other industry trade shows to continue discussions about trade show consolidation and potential format changes. With significant change occurring in the trade show industry generally, and the movement of several trade show sponsors toward expanding their shows by reaching out to a broader audience base, PMI believes that conditions are ideal for consolidation at this time.
PMI and its members also expressed disappointment with the recent announcement of the break up of the partnership between Reed Exhibition Group and the American Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA). This breakup will result in two substantially similar hardware shows less than three weeks apart in April and May 2004. Executive Director Barbara Higgens has conveyed PMI's views on the importance of continuing trade show consolidation in letters and phone calls to the leadership of both Reed Exhibition Group and AHMA.
As one possible approach to explain the benefits of consolidation to both exhibitors and show sponsors, PMI members have proposed a "Revenue Enhancement Formula"
