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March 31, 2009

Mike Ditka For Plastics Education

On Monday, June 22, 2009, nine plastics industry giants will be inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in recognition of their contribution to the development of plastics and the Plastics Industry. The Hall of Fame Banquet is a charitable event sponsored by The Plastics Academy and the Society of Plastics Industry, Inc., benefiting plastics education.

The 2009 Hall of fame inductees are: Robert Barr, Paul Colby, Trevor Evans, Paolo Gaill, James Hendry, Ralph Noble, George Schwarz, Robert Swain and Don Witenhafer.

Hall of Fame football player (class of 1988) and coach Mike Ditka will be the keynote speaker!

Why Mike Ditka? Raised in the hills of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ditka has carved out a remarkable success story from childhood to become an All-American football player at the University of Pittsburgh, All Pro, Super Bowl Champion, a Super Bowl coach, TV sports commentator and successful businessman. As a motivational speaker focusing on attitude, character and leadership, Mr. Ditka is an excellent choice as the Plastics Industry bestows its highest honor on nine deserving industry leaders.

The Hall of Fame banquet presents a unique opportunity for NPE exhibitors and attendees to not only honor the inductees, but also support the need for plastics education thru the Society of Plastics Industry Future of Plastics Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non profit organization.

The banquet will be held in the McCormick Place, West Building Ballroom starting at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and dinner, followed by the induction ceremony. Rather than travel to downtown Chicago for an expensive night on the town; exhibitors, attendees and customers can enjoy a first class event (black tie optional) renew friendships, network with plastics industry titans and support plastics education.

Additional information and ticket reservations can be found at www.npe.org or at www.plastics.com

March 14, 2009

60 Going On 63! Why NPE????

Why not? What better venue for branding your company, introducing new products, new technology, gathering sales leads and securing purchasing orders than being part of a one million plus exhibition area with 70-80,000 prospects in one of the best exhibition facilities (McCormack Place) in one of the most exciting cities (Chicago) in the world! All coming to you in a week of action packed days.

My first NPE experience was as an exhibitor in 1968 at the International Amphitheater, Chicago, (before McCormick Place was built), 360 exhibitors, 215,000 square feet and 40,000 visitors. NPE 2009 – 43 years later; projected to be one million plus square feet, 2000 exhibitors and 80,000 visitors! Held once every three years, NPE is a marketing manager’s dream come true. NPE provides an opportunity to showcase your company, products and technology at a very reasonable cost. The expanded educational conference and the extra effort to attract the international crowd, expected to be 20% of attendees is dramatic.

Some new SPI initiatives remain to be proven, ie.; the new West building designated as a quiet zone, highlighted with the “Technology Center”. The amount of prime space dedicated to Specialty Pavilions and Industry Associations. The booth numbering system may prove to be confusing. The partnering with SPE on conferences is long over due but will it be successful? The multitude of commercial opportunities for companies to purchase remains to be validated.

Despite these unanswered questions, NPE is the best value for your company marketing dollars, especially in an economic downturn which mandates creativity and resourcefulness on all organizations to survive. NPE 2009 –Make it work for you!

From a cost standpoint the value doesn’t get any better. Certainly not telephone solicitations. Not direct mail campaigns. Not trade media exposure. Not even weekly “newspaper” commitments. The internet if you understand its potential and complexity with its greater lasting potential---will be the subject of my next communication.

Editor's Note: David Hahn, a principal in Plastics .com spent 21 years as a volunteer with NPE and was chairman of NPE 1997.

 




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