June 25, 2021 – EACA News

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jim Wurm
[email protected]
541-317-8768

EACA and EDPA Joint Statement on Industry Re-Opening

REDMOND, OR  (June 25, 2021) — The EACA Board of Directors and the EDPA Board of Directors have issued a Joint Statement about the readiness of their collective members to get back to work as our industry re-opens.

Both organizations are grateful that we have reached the time when the industry is opening, and we can plan for the return of events.   Yet, as we move forward, some questions are being raised.

One question is about the strength of the industry’s workforce.   We have heard show organizers question whether companies that design, build and install displays at trade shows may not have adequate labor resources.  EACA and EDPA can answer that question right now as our collective member companies are ready to get back to work. The exhibitor community is looking forward to working with us again as their preferred suppliers.

As events begin to roll out both organizations anticipate a patch work of safety protocols and event approaches during the re-opening process, not unlike the changes that occured in air travel after 9/11.  Yet within the approaches under consideration there is concern about exhibitor requirements that appear to be designed to serve show management and general contractors at the expense of our communities.

The attached joint statement includes commentary from the Exhibitor Advisory Group on one such approach and the negative impact it could create in the value generated from trade show participation.   These type of policies, unfortunately, are not new. Similar ideas surfaced after an industry slowdown with the 2008 recession and post-9/11. Both times, exhibitors strongly voiced their objections.

While both organizations feel it’s important to voice these concerns, EACA and EDPA also want to make it clear that our members are here and are ready and able to support the trade show industry and exhibitor community. Let’s all get back to work.

See you on the show floor!