Chicago, IL, June 16--Large crowds and a sense that people browsed displays of the latest chairs, carpets, walls and desktop devices with specific projects in mind brightened the mood at an office furniture trade show that ended on Wednesday.
U.S. furniture manufacturers, riding an 18-month recovery in shipments after a sharp downturn following the Sept. 11attacks in 2001, hope increased attendance at the NeoCon World's Trade Fair will eventually lead to sales.
"Attendance last year was pretty good and exhibitors were cautiously optimistic," said Tom Reardon, executive director of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association. "The mood is much more buoyant this year."
Part of that may be the forecast for 11.3 percent growth in U.S. office furniture manufacturer's shipments in 2005, on top of a 2004 rise of 5.1 percent that ended three years of declines.
Exhibitors aim for potential customers among architects, designers, facility managers, planners, dealers and corporate executives with new products for the office, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, airports, government buildings and schools.
More than 1,000 exhibitors ranging from small to very large, such as Herman Miller Inc, HNI Corp, Knoll Inc. and Steelcase Inc., filled several floors of the Merchandise Mart for the show.
Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., owned by Vornado Realty Trust, produces and manages the NeoCon trade show.
"People tell me a lot of attendees are looking for specific types (of furniture) ... a strong indication there is business out there," said Melvin Schlitt, vice president of strategic planning and new developments for Merchandise Mart.
This year's NeoCon show likely outdrew the 41,820 that came in 2004, organizers said, citing a 20 percent increase in hotel blocks, a 12 percent rise in registrations and heavy showroom traffic.
Companies often unveil new products at NeoCon, with trends toward recyclable materials for furniture and carpets, more easily adjustable desks and open floor plans.
Among the new products was another in a line of Herman Miller chairs that is nearly 100 percent recyclable and made partly from recycled material, spokesman Mark Schurman said.
Babble, a clock radio-sized device designed to reduce distractions from overheard conversations by rendering a voice into easily tuned out background noise, also attracted attention, said William DeKruif, president of Sonare Technologies, a Herman Miller unit.
The downturn in the office furniture business followed the Sept. 11 attacks. Shipments reached an unsustainable peak of $13.3 billion in 2000 at the tail end of the technology boom, Reardon said.
The recession turned out to be short and shallow, but companies have been shy about making investments, he said.
"Customers were apprehensive about doing much ... until they were really sure (the recovery) would last a while, and now that they are, they are starting to make those moves and we are starting to benefit from it," Reardon said.
