ST Media Group International, parent company to The Big Picture magazine, has announced that FESPA has acquired all rights to ImageWorld, Mexico’s leading tradeshow for the signage and specialty-printing industries. The show, to be held August 21-23, 2008 at Centro Banamex in Mexico City, will be expanded under the new brand, FESPA Mexico World Expo.
Under the agreement, the UK-based FESPA immediately assumes complete responsibility for all sales, marketing, and operations of the event. ST Media Group will remain involved with the show in a consulting capacity over a five-year period and its products will be used extensively by FESPA in marketing the event. ST Media Group also will continue to publish Signs of the Times and Screen Printing en espanol, the publication serving sign companies, screen printers, and digital print shops throughout Latin America. ST will also continue to host the magazine’s website, www.graficosdehoy.com.
“We believe FESPA brings a number of critical strengths to this show that will enable it to grow significantly in the future under its new identity,” says Tedd Swormstedt, president of ST Media Group. “FESPA is very well positioned to build the international representation at the show and expand the breadth of imaging technologies displayed there.”
FESPA Mexico World Expo will be coordinated by FESPA event manager Michael Ryan. Ryan will be supported locally by Humberto Garcia, who will continue to handle Latin American advertising sales for Signs of the Times and Screen Printing en espanol and www.graficosdehoy.com.
“In recent years, in response to clear demand from the marketplace, FESPA has demonstrated a commitment to expanding our event portfolio into strong emerging markets,' says Frazer Chesterman, FESPA managing director. 'These include, for example, the successful launches of FESPA India and its digital spin-off, and the forthcoming FESPA Asia-Pacific event.
“Like these markets, demand for wide-format print is booming in Mexico,' Chesterman continues. 'The economic and political landscape is more stable than ever, and the time is right for FESPA to branch out into the region. ImageWorld has established itself as a successful forum for the Mexican imaging market. Now, our ambition is to expand the show, appealing to a broader community of screen printers, signmakers and digital print service providers, as well as textile and garment manufacturers in Mexico and the wider Latin American market.”
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ImageWorld was founded in 1997 and is widely recognized as Mexico’s leading trade show for the signage and graphics industries. FESPA’s first move after acquiring the event and renaming it FESPA Mexico World Expo: expanding the available floor space by 25% to accommodate the demand from first-time exhibitors. At the time of the acquisition, exhibit sales were already on pace to far eclipse the 2007 show, the largest in the event’s history.
ST Media Group recently announced the acquisition of Lyons Media, Inc. of West Chester, PA. ST Media Group obtained rights to Lyons Media's portfolio, which includes Package Design Magazine and RFID Product News.
FESPA
www.fespa.com
FESPA Mexico World Expo
www.imageworldonline.com/
ST MEDIA GROUP
www.stmediagroup.com
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