SEMA Show 2003 Is Already Setting Records

DIAMOND BAR, Calif., Nov. 25, 2002; SEMA Show 2003 is already setting records, nearly a year before it opens in Las Vegas next Nov. 4, according to Peter MacGillivray, vice president of sales and marketing for SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association.

"Our SEMA Show exhibitors were extremely satisfied with the new layout and organization of our show this year. They voted with their commitments for exhibit space for next year's SEMA Show. At our 2003 SEMA Show space selection, which we held during the 2002 Show early this month in Las Vegas, exhibitors reserved more space than our 2002 SEMA Show exhibits occupied," he said.

MacGillivray said that more than 1,100 exhibiting companies have contracted for 7,800 booths (780,000 net square feet) at the SEMA Show next fall.

The 2002 SEMA Show, which was open only to professionals in the automotive industry, had 770,000 net square feet of exhibit space and was organized into ten sections for the convenience of buyers and exhibitors.

In addition, more than 1,500 cars, trucks, boats and other vehicles -- each one unlike any of the others -- were on display at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2002 show's run from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8.

Images and descriptions of the vehicles on display at SEMA Show 2002 will be online at www.sema.org/showcase , as are images and descriptions of hundreds of products introduced at the show.

SEMA Show 2003 will have twelve (12) sections. They are: International Tire Expo; Wheels & Performance Tires; Car Care & Accessories; Mobile Electronics; Performance Marine; Racing & Performance; Restoration Marketplace; Restyling & Accessories Center; Street Rod Alley; Tools & Equipment; Trucks, SUVs, Truck Caps & Accessories; and Business Services. The three new sections -- Car Care & Accessories, Tools & Equipment, and Business Services -- will be adjacent to each other.

MacGillivray said that the 2003 SEMA Show, although already larger than this year's show, still has exhibit space available.

The 2003 SEMA Show will be the 27th consecutive annual show the association has held in Las Vegas, and the 38th SEMA show SEMA has organized. The show will open Tuesday, Nov. 4, and close Friday, Nov. 7. Pre-show activities -- such as SEMA's annual Innovations Day of seminars and previews -- are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 3.

Companies wanting information about exhibiting at SEMA Show 2003, or other trade and industry shows produced by SEMA, should contact ConvExx, SEMA's show management company, at info@convexx.com, or 702/450-7662. For information about SEMA and its activities and programs, contact the association staff at 909/396-0289, or info@sema.org.