The InfoComm China 2003 exhibition, previously scheduled to be held April 16-18 at the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center, is now slated for July 29-31, 2003 at the same location.
The decision to reschedule the exhibition was made jointly by ICIA and its Asia partner IAPL in the interest of the participants, in light of developments relating to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) being reported in China.
“As an association of AV companies, it is important to us that we address any major concerns relating to the wellbeing of those who participate in the InfoComm shows,” said Randal A. Lemke, Ph.D., executive director of ICIA. “In this case we have the support of ICIA participating members for postponing InfoComm China to July. We and our partners, IAPL, expect the July timeframe to be as successful, if not more so, than April. China is an invaluable trade location for AV manufacturers, dealers and other related service providers for the professional audiovisual market, and we are looking forward to the continued growth of this important show.”
InfoComm China 2003 has attracted many global industry names to participate in the event. To date, over 80 exhibitors, including Barco, Christie Digital Systems, Crestron, Da-Lite Screen Company, Draper Inc., Epson, Extron, Hitachi, InFocus, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony and Toshiba have signed up for the exhibition. Their displays will occupy over 10,000 square meters of exhibition space.
In conjunction with the exhibition, a three-day seminar on new AV technologies and products will be held. The seminar is organized under the aegis of ICIA.
The first InfoComm China was held last year in Shanghai. It featured 55 exhibitors from Asia, America and Europe and drew over 11,000 trade visitors.
ICIA has simultaneously announced the postponement of InfoComm Japan, originally planned to take place July 30-August 1, 2003, in Tokyo. Citing the difficult economic environment in Japan, ICIA and its partner Japan Industrial Journal (JIJ) have concluded that they will postpone the show while they take time to determine next steps. InfoComm Japan was first launched in 2000 as a comprehensive, yet specialized, exhibition spanning the range of audiovisual presentation equipment, with an emphasis on image projection technology. While the show had experienced growth during its first three years, the economic downturn of the past year has generated considerable change for many of the participating manufacturing companies, with a resulting lag in commitments.
The International Communications Industries Association, Inc.® (ICIA®) is the premier trade association for the professional audiovisual communications industry. ICIA is the founder of InfoComm, the conference and trade exposition for audiovisual communications professionals who come to learn about the latest technologies and available services as well as new and alternative applications. As a key industry event, InfoComm is the educational and interactive marketplace for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, systems integrators, rental and staging companies, independent representatives, independent design consultants, architects, facilities managers, engineers, presentations designers and end users, including AV and IT professionals, sales and marketing staff, meeting planners and purchasers. InfoComm attracts a broad spectrum of market sectors, including business, government, military, education, religion, health care, entertainment and conventions. ICIA also serves its worldwide membership as the pre-eminent provider of education, training and certification.