Penton Announces Agreements to Bring IWCE to Australia and Italy
2/7/2008
NEW YORK (February 7, 2008) - Penton Media, Inc. today announced licensing agreements with IIR Conferences of Melbourne and Wireless Srl of Milan to bring Penton's International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) to the growing wireless communications markets of Australia and Italy. The 2008 Expos will be held in Melbourne in June 2008 and Milan in April 2008. The new events will be the initial overseas venues for IWCE, North America's largest annual wireless communications technologies show. The agreements are the first in what is expected to be a series of international partnerships to expand Penton's successful U.S. trade show franchises to new markets in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
"This marks a key step in our initiative to utilize licenses and partnerships to expand our growing U.S. industry trade show brand portfolio globally," said John French, chief executive officer of Penton. "We're pleased to announce our new relationships with IIR Conferences and Wireless Srl. We expect to work closely with them to provide program and marketing support for the launch of these exciting new shows for the global wireless community."
In 2007, more than 350 companies utilized IWCE in Las Vegas to launch and showcase wireless communications technologies, products and services, in areas including land mobile radio, paging, PCS/cellular, telematics/mobile data, Wi-Fi/WiMax, VoIP and GPS.
IWCE serves technology end users, public safety professionals, wireless service providers, IT professionals, and wireless dealers and consultants. In addition to its trade show exhibition, IWCE provides educational programs for novice and experienced IT professionals, as well advanced training for communications engineers. In the U.S., IWCE is sponsored by Penton Media's Mobile Radio Technology magazine as well as 55 other industry associations and publications. Additional information is available at www.iwceexpo.com.
The agreements with Wireless Srl and IIR Conferences were brokered by Mayfield Media Strategies of the U.K., which is assisting Penton in identifying potential partners and negotiating licensing agreements.
IIR Conferences has served the needs of public safety communications professionals for the past 17 years, through its Fleet Mobile Integrated Comms conference. IIR looks to the Australian launch of IWCE as the next evolution for this highly regarded event.
IIR is a member of the Informa group of companies. Based in more than 70 countries and employing more than 7,000 staff members worldwide, Informa is the largest publicly-owned organizer of conferences and courses in the world, with more than 10,000 events annually. In addition, Informa publishes 40,000 book titles and 2,000 subscription-based services. Informa's events attract senior and influential delegates, with major international gatherings drawing up to 1,000 delegates and some smaller highly interactive niche seminars catering to as few as 10 individuals. These cutting edge events cover the latest developments, feature leading speakers and offer unrivalled network opportunities for professionals.
Since 2000, Wireless Srl has been a unique reference point in Italy for information and communication technology operators. Wireless organizes and promotes its own conferences, tradeshows, seminars and training courses and other events, in co-operation with public institutions, international partners and various sponsors, creating important international meeting points and a direct gateway to the Italian market.
Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.
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