PennWell buys Avionics conference and exhibition

Posted by John McHale

Just like our advertisers we are always looking for ways to grow our business and did that recently when our parent company, PennWell, purchased Avionics Expo Limited, a U.K. company which owns and produces the successful Avionics conference and exhibition.

Established in 2003 as an annual event, Avionics was most recently held March 5-6, 2008 at the Passenger Air Terminal in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Avionics comprises a significant trade exhibition, two-day conference program, workshops, and technology demos serving more than 1,400 attendees. The next Avionics will be held March 4-5, 2009 in Amsterdam.

PennWell will manage Avionics from its London office and will retain the show's founder, Adrian Broadbent, as a consultant. Broadbent will assist PennWell in the continued development of this growing conference and exhibition for the global aerospace industry. Gareth Watkins will also remain as the sales manager and joins PennWell as an employee in its London office under the management of Glenn Ensor, PennWell Director of International Events.

Our President and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Biolchini says that Avionics is highly strategic because it complements PennWell's magazines, events, and information products serving equipment and technology intensive global industries from its headquarters in Tulsa and several worldwide offices. "Since air travel is expanding globally and nearly 10,000 new commercial aircraft are expected to enter service over the next 10 years, the Avionics show is essential to avionics manufacturers and professionals involved in new cockpit technologies and procedures developed for both civil and military aircraft," he adds.

The event has strong synergy with our Military & Aerospace Electronics franchise. It expands PennWell's strategic position in this $8 billion market which it serves with its international magazine, Military & Aerospace Electronics, and its annual U.S.-based conference and exhibition, Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum, most recently held March 11-12, 2008 in San Diego.

Broadbent says, "The integration of Avionics into the PennWell business with its greater investment potential and existing media products will enable the show to continue to grow but at a far greater rate. I am pleased to be a part of the exciting new stage of development for the event."

The addition of the Avionics conference is a perfect fit as Military & Aerospace Electronics has provided leading coverage of avionics trends and technology since its founding.

I was fortunate to attend the event this year and found it to have strong content, relevant and expert speakers, and healthy floor traffic during the exhibition. It was the first time I'd attended in two years and was impressed with its growth - 30 to 50 percent each year during the past few years.

We're very excited about the acquisition and working with Adrian and Gareth. Adrian and I have already started planning next year's event and will be releasing the Avionics 2009 Call for Papers next month.

Keep an eye on our website for that and other announcements regarding Avionics 2009 and our continued editorial coverage of avionics issues in the defense and commercial markets.

See you in Amsterdam.