With industry professionals from more than 100 countries expected at the 2007 SEMA Show, the annual trade-only event has taken extra steps to include several services and business opportunities specifically for international visitors.
Taking place Tuesday, October 30–Friday, November 2, in Las Vegas, the SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty-products trade event in the world.
International programs at the Show will include a custom-fit trade leads program, a full-service Center for International Commerce, wide-ranging education programs, social functions and networking opportunities.
“The automotive specialty-equipment market is booming worldwide,” said Linda Spencer, SEMA director of international relations. “As the market’s largest trade event, the SEMA Show is attracting more and more international businesses each year.”
SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray reports that the 2007 SEMA Show will feature exhibitors in more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space. “More than 2,000 unique automotive vehicles will be on display in and around the convention center, too. These will provide Show attendees with a vast number of creative new ideas for vehicle personalization,” he stated.
Special services for international visitors to the SEMA Show include dozens of free seminars and roundtable discussions about selling in international markets as well as the U.S. market, a SEMA International Buyers Guide, multilingual “We Export” signs at exhibitors’ booths and export experts at key booths. SEMA staff from the United States and overseas offices, as well as representatives from the U. S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy, will be available to assist SEMA Show attendees from around the world.
The Center for International Commerce will have interpreters, conference rooms, Internet access, international phone service, fax, and e-mail service, 45 international specialty-equipment magazines and up-to-date international research reports. An electronic locator will also make it even easier for buyers to locate the products they seek at the Show.
“Before the Show, SEMA’s International Trade Leads program will match buyers with the exhibitors of products of particular interest,” said Spencer. “Buyers who will attend the SEMA Show can tell us in advance what products they are looking for. We then pass those requests along to our Show exhibitors who contact the international buyers and make appointments to meet during the Show,” she explained.
Easy online registration is available in seven languages—English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese—at www.SEMAshow.com. The Show’s comprehensive website contains complete information about the SEMA Show (schedule, floor plan, exhibitor list and travel and accommodations). The site will be continually updated until the Show opens.
The SEMA Show is certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program. For more information about programs and services available to international visitors at the SEMA Show, contact Linda Spencer, 202/783-4032 or lindas@sema.org.