Smarter Shows announced that the next edition of Foam Expo North America will now take place 23 – 25 March 2021 in Novi, MI, USA. With the continuing uncertainty around the safety and feasibility of delivering mass gathering events, and following consultation with its event partners, the organiser confirmed on 26 May 2020 the postponement of Foam Expo North America 2020.
Smarter Shows also announced the launch of Foam Expo Connect, a brand-new digital event brand, underlining its commitment to the worldwide technical foam sector, and the supply chains serving relevant end-user industries. The inaugural Foam Expo Connect digital event will take place in August 2020, in partnership with Adhesives & Bonding Expo Connect, its collocation partner’s digital event brand.
According to Smarter Shows, Foam Expo Connect’s digital event experiences will deliver the same benefits as its traditional face-to-face formats: informing and educating, facilitating business connections and fostering relationships, enabling peer-to-peer conversations and networking, and creating the opportunity for professionals to come together, and collectively identify the latest ideas, technologies, and supply chain solutions. More details, including a full programme of digital events running August 2020, and the participating organisations, will be released in due course, said the organiser.
Plans for the European edition of the event, Foam Expo Europe 2020, remain unchanged. This face-to-face expo event will run 10 – 12 November 2020 in Stuttgart, Germany.
The exact wording of Smarter Shows’ statement on the postponement is quoted below:
Our plans 2020 and 2021
Earlier this year, in March, we took the decision to postpone Foam Expo North America to new dates in August 2020. Taken at the moment Michigan began to enforce stay at home procedures, this decision was made to ensure the safety of all attendees and the return on investment for our valued exhibitors. With global travel restrictions and social distancing measures remaining in place during this time, it is important that we plan now to deliver Foam Expo North America, (alongside Adhesives & Bonding Expo) when a high-quality and well attended event can take place. The strongest option to achieve this is to move the show back to its original and established date window and therefore we have taken the difficult but ultimately positive decision to move back to March next year. Foam Expo North America will take place alongside Adhesives & Bonding Expo between 23rd – 25th March 2021 at Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi, Michigan.
We are also pleased to announce that during the dates previously scheduled for the show, August 25, 26 and 27, 2020, we will be running a virtual event week, delivering a program of digital content and online events that connect exhibitors and attendees across the supply chain and end-user industries. This digital event will be called, Foam Expo Connect. As an exhibitor at the show you will automatically benefit from the digital event in August and, as before, we have worked hard with the venue, suppliers and partners to ensure the automatic, easy and seamless transition for you to event in 2021, including the transfer of any booth furnishing and construction services already purchased.
If you have made hotel bookings through our official hotel partner DF Meetings and Events, your bookings will automatically be cancelled today and you will be immediately notified when the reservation system for the postponed event in 2021 goes live. You do not need to contact DF Meetings & Events to arrange the cancellation. We will be reaching out to you over the coming days to arrange your transfer to the 2021 dates personally and to answer any queries that you might have. However, if you have any immediate questions – please do not hesitate to email in or give the team here a call. Over the coming days and weeks you will also be receiving information about the digital event in August and the ways in which you can use it to virtually meet customers, create new leads and drive business opportunities during this time. Thank you for your understanding and support and we look forward to seeing you all in person next March.