2002 SEMA SHOW*ITE SPACE DRAWING CONTRACTS FOR MORE SPACE THAN 2001 "SOLD OUT" SHOW

2002 SEMA SHOW*ITE SPACE DRAWING CONTRACTS FOR MORE SPACE THAN 2001 "SOLD 
OUT" SHOW

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 8, 2001) - The 2002 SEMA Show*ITE will be larger than 
this year's sold-out show, according to SEMA President Charles R. Blum.

SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, held its space 
selection for the 2002 show, planned for Tuesday, Nov. 5 through Friday, 
Nov. 8, 2002, in the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. "This 
was the first time SEMA has held its space selection on site.  During the 
SEMA Show*ITE last week, we contracted for 703,355 net square feet of 
exhibit space, 10% more than this year's SEMA Show*ITE," Blum said. SEMA 
ordinarily holds its space selection six months before the annual show, 
and in a location outside of Las Vegas.

Blum said, "With a new floor plan that includes the LVCC expansion, we 
wanted to let our exhibitors have a preview of what to expect." Tours of 
the new facility were provided during the show.

The SEMA Show*ITE has been sold out for several years, and the 
organization has had to cap display size for several major exhibitors, 
including automakers like General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler.  
That will no longer be necessary, according to Blum. The expanded 
convention center, with an additional 430,000 square feet of exhibit 
space, will also bring the exhibitors housed in temporary pavilions under 
the main center roof.  

The SEMA Show is also inaugurating a major sectionalization of the show. 
"In a show this size," Blum said, "sectionalizing the show makes sense, 
particularly for the benefit of the buyers."

The 2001 SEMA Show*ITE attracted 69,354 attendees from 124 countries last 
week. As part of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, it was the 
largest business meeting held in the United States since September 11.

"The best thing about the show," Blum said, "was that people were doing 
business.  Our aisles were full of traffic until the very last hour of 
the show."

The 2001 SEMA Show*ITE had nearly 1,300 exhibiting companies with 
approximately 6,300 booths.

SEMA represents the $24.86 billion specialty automotive industry. The 
trade association is composed of nearly 4,800 member companies, and is 
the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth 
information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The 
industry provides appearance, performance, safety, comfort, convenience 
and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, pickups, SUVs and 
recreational vehicles. It's a specialty market as old as the automobile 
and as new as cutting-edge technology.