It’s a rough economy out there, but here’s good news from Gardner Publications.

Gardner’s Time Compression Expo is a brand-new event that will co-locate with NPE2009 and Gardner’s own MoldMaking Expo—not to mention five other co-located events that will make up an unprecedented, multi-faceted extravaganza in Chicago this June. And it turns out that Time Compression Expo is already sold out.

Time Compression Expo will address strategies and technologies for rapid design and product development. All 3,000 square feet of floor space originally allotted for the expo in the West Hall of Chicago’s McCormick Place have been taken, reports Lisa Dodge, program development manager for Gardner Publications. To meet demand, another 1,200 square feet in the West Hall is being added for the event.

“The response to our inaugural event shows that even in these trying economic times people recognize that the ability to accelerate product development is vital to market success,” Lisa says. “The eighteen exhibitors that have purchased the floor space are all firms that can help companies significantly decrease their time to market.”

Eighteen organizations have booked space thus far: 3D Systems, Armstrong Mold, Axis Prototypes, DSM Somos, Dimension 3D Printing, EOS North America, Exact Metrology, GPI Prototypes & Manufacturing Services, Hexagon Metrology, Met-L-Flo, Metalise It. . . .America, Objet Geometries, PTI Engineered Plastics, Stratasys, The Ex One Company, Seaway Plastics Engineering, Xcentric Mold & Engineering, and 3DSUG.

“We’re finding that even though companies are cutting back on expenditures, they are still interested in finding the ways and means to improve their processes so that they can grow their bottom lines,” says Travis Egan, publisher of Gardner’s Time Compression magazine. “Prototyping and other faster-to-market technologies are proving to be of vital importance to companies in all industries, ranging from consumer goods to industrial equipment.”

According to attendee statistics from NPE 2006, 5,951 were interested in rapid prototyping equipment; 6,254 in rapid tooling; and 3,024 in prototyping services

Although NPE is held every three years, Lisa Dodge says that the Time Compression Expo will be an annual event.  One of the advantages for companies exhibiting at the 2009 event is that they obtain priority status for booth space selection for the 2010 expo.

To register for NPE2009, Time Compression Expo, and other activities including technical tracks and plant tours, go to the event website. To learn about exhibiting at the Time Compression Expo, contact Lisa Dodge at ldodge@gardnerweb.com or 1-734/709-3822.

…As in the sparkling crystal clarity of PET bottles and films. These days they’re even bottling whiskey in PET. I can get used to that.

So big and busy and bursting with innovation is the PET packaging industry that the people at the Packaging Strategies organization have been very successful with their “PET Strategies” conferences. And now Packaging Strategies has reached an agreement with SPI to co-locate the next edition of this conference with NPE2009, changing the name slightly to PET Strategies +.

There’s a reason for the “plus” that will interest NPE attendees not pre-registered for the conference, notes Packaging Strategies director David Luttenberger:

“PET Strategies has, for the past 11 years, been the leading conference event in North America focused on the business of PET packaging.  It has also included presentations on emerging technologies, with discussions on how those technologies are brought to bear on end-use markets. PET Strategies+ will continue to emphasize the importance of sound business practices and innovations but will expand its scope to include almost all plastics packaging materials and processes—hence the + moniker.  In an economy where cost has become the primary driver of business and technology innovation, it is important to be able to discuss all options available to retailers, brand-owners, converters, and suppliers.

“The event will kick off with an ‘Open Keynote,’ We are planning to create a Keynote Theatre on the actual show floor. The keynote will address the business and technologies of plastics packaging, not just PET, and it will be open to all NPE2009 show attendees, with a special section reserved right up front for those who’ve pre-registered for PET Strategies+.  The keynote session will also include a panel discussion featuring top brand owners from such plastics-using end-market categories as toys, electronics, do-it-yourself, health and beauty aids, and, of course, food and beverage.”

Other than the Open Keynote, the conference will consist of concurrent morning sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of NPE week, followed by a box lunch and “technology tour” taking in relevant innovations on the NPE2009 exhibit floor. PET Strategies + attendees will be able to register by using the registration button at www.npe.org.

Add one more to the list of industry events that will co-locate with NPE2009. This time it’s a brand-new event—the inaugural edition of Time Compression Conference and Exposition (TC Expo), produced by Gardner Publications Inc. for industry professionals in the field of rapid product development.

Gardner had already entered into an agreement with SPI to co-locate their well-known annual MoldMaking Expo™ (MME) exposition and conference. The biggest co-location of all is SPE’s ANTEC™ 2009, the world’s largest plastics technical conference. And there is a more specialized co-location with NPE2009: ‘Coatings for Plastics,’ a conference produced by the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT).

There has never been anything like this before at an NPE—multiple expositions and multiple conferences, giving NPE visitors an unprecedented selection. And apparently there’s more to come. SPI trade shows vice president Gene Sanders says he expects to announce soon the co-location of yet another event with NPE2009.

Co-location is trade show lingo for holding two events at the same time and place. It gives more people reason to attend, and those who would have attended one of the events anyway get more bang for their buck. In fact, if you haven’t yet registered for any of these events, when you click on the “Register” button at www.npe.org, you’ll find package plans and multi-event discounts for some of them.

While we’re all in favor of time compression, particularly during dental surgery, Gardner has something very specific in mind for TC Expo—cutting time to market by accelerating product development through use of design, software, prototyping, tooling, and direct manufacturing technologies.

“TC Expo has been established to meet the needs of industry professionals who are finding the demand to accelerate development and throughput greater than ever before,” says Travis Egan, publisher of Gardner’s Time Compression magazine, which is organizing the event.  “As companies downsize, the product development personnel really need a competitive edge, and we’re convinced that they’ll be able to find it at this first-ever TC Expo.”