SPE’s Antec moves to May in wake of NPE cancellation

In the wake of the cancellation of the in-person NPE2021 trade show, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is moving its 2021 Antec event to May.

“The unfortunate cancellation of NPE gives SPE the opportunity to move its annual technical conference back to its traditional May timeframe,” SPE CEO Patrick Farrey said in a Jan. 20 news release. “SPE had previously agreed to move Antec to March to avoid the conflict of having two major industry events in the same month but May has always been the preferred timeframe for our members, attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.”

Antec 2021 now will start on May 5.

Farrey also indicated that the May 2021 edition will feature a new online platform, selected to enhance the social and business connections between attendees, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors.

“Last year’s pandemic-inspired Virtual Antec was a great success, with more than 4,000 attendees and 50 exhibitors participating,” Farrey said.  “But the overwhelming feedback was that those participants wanted more ways to interact – buyers with exhibitors, attendees with speakers, friends with friends. So, this year’s Antec will do that in ways which weren’t even possible last year.”

The new Antec platform includes sophisticated introduction and connection tools. Through both self-selection and artificial intelligence matching, attendees and exhibitors will be “connected” based on their own preferences and profiles. For exhibitors, this means they can find and speak directly with their qualified buyers and engage one-on-one with decision-makers who meet their specific criteria, through embedded video chat and messaging – during and after the event.

For a preview of the Antec 2021 platform, visit www.4spe.org/demo.