APRA and SEMA Announce Show Space Exchange

Two of the automotive aftermarket’s largest shows have decided to cooperate and focus their shows in single locations, rather than both splitting venues.
William Gager, president of the Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA) and Christopher J. Kersting, CAE, President of SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, announced today that the International BIG R Show will be housed entirely at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel over the dates of November 1-4, 2002, while the SEMA show that follows it November 5-8 will take place entirely at the Las Vegas Convention center. Initial plans called for both shows to use portions of both venues.
According to Kersting, "Our 2002 SEMA Show is experiencing real growth, and our demands on the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center parallel that growth. The Chrysler Group, our vehicle manufacturer of the show, has unprecedented plans for using space within the Center. We’ve also had to expand the space allocations for some of our show’s sections recently.
"We explored a lot of possible ways to meet our space needs. Bill Gager, knowing our dilemma, graciously offered to swap spaces with us. This makes a lot of sense. Now, rather than having SEMA and APRA in both the Center and the Hilton, the International Big R Show will be housed within the Hilton Hotel and our SEMA Show will be entirely under the Las Vegas Convention Center roof, " Kersting explained.
Gager commented, "APRA exhibitors were in the Las Vegas Hilton in 1992, 1995, 1997, and 2000. This swapping of exhibit space puts the International BIG R Show back in familiar surroundings.
"We are very pleased to be in a position to accommodate our good friends at SEMA. We view this as a win-win solution for everyone. The dates of the show haven’t changed and the floor plan remains almost entirely the same. All we did was move next door to the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel," Gager stated.