Shepard Goes Beyond Event Production at SGIA Expo

It all began in 2003, when Shepard Exposition Group began working with SGIA (Booth 2245) as the general services contractor for SGIA Expo, held in Atlanta that year. Immediately, the company saw that the show was a good opportunity to create and deepen relationships with vendors, and later to add to their own technology arsenal.

“In the early years, we primarily utilized SGIA Expo as a way to develop relationships with substrate and supply vendors,” says Steve Basch, CEO, Shepard. “As printing technology and capabilities matured, along with the size of our operations, it became clear we could increase our printing quality and realize cost efficiencies. The show floor made it easy for us to educate ourselves and compare a wide variety of offerings. We purchased our first printer in 2008, and have continued using SGIA Expo as a research and purchasing resource every year since.”

According to Basch, using the Expo as a resource was an obvious choice from the beginning of the relationship. “With over 500 specialty imaging providers in one place, we’re able to see the very latest in technology, trends and techniques, as well as shop, compare and make decisions very efficiently. SGIA Expo is clearly the most comprehensive gathering of specialty imaging vendors in one place.”

“Shepard’s recognition that the SGIA Expo is the place to look for print equipment clearly illustrates that all companies who provide printing services benefit from the show floor,” notes Marcia Kinter, Vice President – Government & Business Information, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA). “They are not on the edges of the printing industry, but function more like an in-plant operation, providing print services to their customers such as SGIA, often on an on-demand basis. They do not fall into the traditional ‘for hire’ printing model, where someone walks in off the street to order a print. And based on their track record, Shepard can find the right solution and addition to their printing platforms at the Expo.”

Those equipment purchases have been varied. Through the years, Shepard has used SGIA Expo to purchase equipment such as multiple flatbed printers, multiple dye sublimation textile printers with sewing attachments and multiple CNC routers. And, says Basch, while “we have nothing specific in mind at this moment,” for the 2017 Expo, they are always “open to the possibility of discovering something new that gives us a competitive advantage and added value for our customers.”

Going green

One new step they have taken is to make their organization more environmentally friendly. “Shepard has utilized the Expo for quite a while to both research and source equipment for its printing operations,” says Kinter. “More importantly, their use of the show was highlighted in their conversations regarding sustainability in their operations. Shepard Exposition Group will be the first show service company to obtain certification from the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership Program (SGP) for all its printing locations. Using the SGIA Expo to research not only the equipment, but also the substrates and ink products, provides them access to a wide variety of exhibitors that support SGP as the benchmark for sustainability certification in the print industry.”

“Shepard is the first general service contractor to become SGP certified,” says Basch. “This will allow us to better serve our customers who are looking for sustainable sourcing for their events. It also allows us to better partner with the facilities we work in, as we all work to achieve our increasingly common sustainability goals.”

The certification was awarded just before SGIA Expo began, and, Kinter points out, SGIA is “walking the walk, using fully certified facilities for the entire Expo this year.”