More than 6,100 qualified buyers from 2,082 firms—including nearly 2,300 first-time attendees—attended H.H. Backer’s 20th Annual Pet Industry Spring Trade Show, held May 16-18 at its new venue, the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.

A total of 544 exhibitors displayed products in more than 870 booths, including 91 first-time participants.

“Based on most of the feedback we received from exhibitors, the destination was very well received,” said Colette Fairchild, trade show director for H.H. Backer Associates Inc. (Chicago). “We had some challenges with show floor traffic flow due to the Baltimore Convention Center’s layout, but we plan to revise the floor plan next year and open another entrance. We’re sure that with a move to earlier dates next year and keeping the show within an earlier timeframe for subsequent years, both exhibitors and buyers will find the Backer spring show more conducive to seasonal buying—which dominates so much of the current market.”

Backer Associates celebrated the show’s move to Baltimore by hosting about 800 buyers and exhibitors at an all-industry party at Power Plant Live!, an outdoor venue surrounded by bars and restaurants.

The show’s new all-natural exhibit area featured companies with natural or “green” products representing nearly every segment of the pet industry, while the Aquatic Answers pavilion once again featured aquatic exhibitors and individually tailored “Ask the Expert” sessions.

The show also offered several free idea-packed educational seminars to help retailers and distributors improve their businesses.

NexPet Inc. (New York) held its annual meeting in conjunction with the show, and the Pet Care Services Association (Colorado Springs, Colo.) held its national meeting nearby.

H.H. Backer Associates’ next show is its 42nd Annual Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show, Oct. 3-5 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Ill. The next Backer Spring Trade Show will be held April 3-5, 2009, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.

For more information, visit www.hhbacker.com or e-mail hhbacker@hhbacker.com. [August 2008 PET AGE]