F
or the first time ever, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Expo 2006
and the American Textile Machinery Exhibition-International® (ATME-I®) 2006 — along with the
collocated 2006 International Conference & Exhibition (IC&E) of the American Association of
Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), Research Triangle Park, N.C. — will come together under the
Megatex umbrella this fall in Atlanta. The gathering is expected to draw up to 1,000 exhibitors and
an estimated 15,000 visitors. As part of the Megatex concept, each show will remain independent,
taking place in separate exhibit halls in the Georgia World Congress Center, and offering in a
single venue a multitude of machinery, equipment, and other products and services for the textile
industry’s diverse needs and interests.
IFAI Expo 2006 — Roseville, Minn.-based IFAI’s event, occurring October 31-November 2 — and
ATME-I 2006 — the October 31-November 3 show produced by ATME-I Inc., a joint venture between
England-based show organizer Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd. and Falls Church, Va.-based show sponsor
American Textile Machinery Association (ATMA®) — will serve as event co-anchors in Halls A and B,
respectively. IC&E, taking place October 31-November 2, will feature exhibits and educational
tracks in Hall B. Registered visitors will be able to move among all three shows.
“Megatex will be a huge international event joining three key textile-related trade shows
under one roof at the same time,” said Dave Tellett, exhibition director, ATME-I/Megatex. “This
will be a tremendous networking and buying opportunity for the textile industry as a whole. The
range of exhibits and the spectrum of visitors will be unique [for] textile shows worldwide.”
Among Megatex’s many industry supporters is US Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Guiterrez,
whose department selected the event as part of the International Buyer Program — a promotional
program involving the 85 worldwide US Commercial Services offices. “If you are a US supplier and
you want to export your products, you need to be in Atlanta …,” Tellett explained.
September/October 2006