LAS VEGAS (Dec. 4, 2014) — Attendance at this year's Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show was up 5 percent over 2013 to nearly 145,500, SEMA said recently.
The number of attendees identified as buyers was up 4 percent, to 61,150, SEMA said, with nearly a quarter of those coming from outside the U.S. There were 2,379 exhibitors at the Las Vegas trade show.
“While we are pleased to see a growth in participation at the show, we are even more pleased with the feedback that we are getting from both exhibitors and attendees,” said Della Domingo, SEMA public relations director.
“Our goal is and has always been to provide the industry and participants with the best place to do business. In other words, we strive to provide the best quality trade show, rather than the largest. Based on the feedback we received, we believe that we have accomplished this goal and will continue to focus on this effort.”
Ms. Domingo said there were 263 exhibitors in the Global Tire Expo (GTE) section, which she categorized as “not a huge increase” from previous years. This year's GTE did, however, include “a few notable exhibitors that did not participate in 2013” — such as the BFGoodrich (BFG) and Hoosier brands.
SEMA is encouraged with the increased participation from many tire exhibitors, she said.
“For example, BFG was active at the new SEMA SCORE Baja 100 Experience — an all-new event that was embraced by the tire industry and will generate new opportunities in the coming years.”
Also new this year was the “SEMA Ignited” event, which provided exhibitors — particularly tire exhibitors — with a chance to connect with consumers, Ms. Domingo told Tire Business.
“We expect that the successful launch of this event will be a compelling reason for the tire industry to support the SEMA Show.”
The 2014 SEMA Show was held Nov. 4-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas.