New NeoCon East Dates Announced

Chicago, IL, Mar. 31--Following rave reviews in its premiere in 2003, NeoCon East returns with new show dates to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD Oct. 6-7. In its debut, NeoCon East attracted more than 6,700 attendees and featured targeted components relevant to today's industry needs including: the GSA-sponsored Government Interiors, Buildings Show and Greenlife. Benefiting from these components was a diverse audience representing regional architecture, design and facilities management communities, as well as federal government designers, buyers and specifiers. This year, NeoCon East, produced and managed by Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI), expects to build upon its momentum and infuse new energy with a strong manufacturer base and new show components, as well as draw the attendance of key decision-makers. New to NeoCon East in 2004 is a lighting pavilion and the Architectural Stone and Ceramic Tile Exposition. In an effort to attract a greater range of professionals with buying power, NeoCon East is proud to announce the newly established partnership with Federal Buildings Expo. Federal Buildings Expo is a GSA-supported training seminar and exposition that targets the largest building services and products buyers in the world. The federal budget for 2004 is proposed at over $7.1 billion in new spending authority to provide secure and cost-effective workplaces. Of this amount, more than $135 million in new funding is provided for increases in guard services, building security equipment and other initiatives to ensure the safety of federal employees. NeoCon East and Federal Buildings Expo will work together to co-promote both events to the government audience with a multimedia campaign that includes - but is not limited to brochures, e-mails, website and press releases. "NeoCon East and Federal Buildings Expo are the two reasons that every federal government buyer should come to the Baltimore-DC area in October," said, Mark Falanga, vice president, MPI. "We are confident that they will find the innovative products and resources that their projects demand in two easily accessible locations.” The Federal Buildings Expo will take place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on the same dates as NeoCon East, Oct. 6-7. Attending the event will be 3,000 federal government buyers who service, secure, build and maintain over 334 million rentable square feet of workspace for more than a million federal employees, encompassing over 1,600 communities, 1,800 federally owned buildings, and 6,500 leased buildings. It features a comprehensive exhibit hall that includes more than 150 of the leading building solution services and product suppliers. The General Services Administration (GSA) is supporting both the Government Interiors portion of NeoCon East and the Federal Buildings Expo this year. "NeoCon East is a wonderful opportunity for federal customers to view a wide assortment of furniture and furnishings, while Federal Buildings Expo targets the largest buildings services and products. We are very excited that they are partnering together in order to facilitate accessibility for federal employees to both show,” said James Duncan, director of the GSA National Furniture Center. The concurrent timing of NeoCon East and Federal Buildings Expo allows commercial and federal government interior designers, facility managers and specifiers the ability to visit the largest collection commercial furnishings and services on the East Coast.