By: Deborah Johnson Wood
One West Michigan manufacturer is on the leading cusp of an industry that's about to blow wide open—the sustainable tradeshow exhibition booth industry.
A study enlisted by Exhibitor Magazine indicates that as exhibitors align their tradeshow practices with their company's sustainability stance the need for 'green' tradeshow booths is about to burst into a $9.24 million market.
So far, Grand Rapids-based ECO-Systems Sustainable Exhibits, Inc. has the only environmentally friendly tradeshow booth on the market, and its ready to ramp up production to meet demand.
That means increasing its employees from eight to 24 by the end of 2008, and bringing the total number of jobs to 55 by the end of 2009. Those jobs will be clerical, middle management, and customer services positions.
"We had a hunch a couple years back that the display industry wouldn't be long getting involved in the green industry," says Tim Morris, owner. "We launched at a tradeshow in March, and people were in our booth two and three deep."
Morris manufactures a modular booth from renewable resources like bamboo, sorghum, and eucalyptus. The booth has energy efficient lighting, earth-friendly floor coverings, and contains recycled materials.
"Tradeshow distributors are gearing up for us," Morris says. "We expect to triple our manufacturing next year."
Morris is working with the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association to establish sustainable business practices and a resource directory.
Source: Tim Morris, ECO-Systems Sustainable Exhibits, Inc.
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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