Your company regularly exhibits at European trade shows. Your objectives are clear, the team knows its role and the stand concept works. Yet exhibiting in the USA for the first time calls for different preparation. Who can build the stand, how materials enter the hall and when you can make changes depend on local arrangements.
Consider these five points before finalising the design and budget. They will help you decide which questions to ask your stand builder, freight provider and exhibition organiser.
Responsibilities
Who carries out each task?
Handling
How much does your packed shipment weigh?
Planning
Who decides in which time zone?
Labour costs
Which labour and surcharges apply?
Customs
Which goods will return?
Bringing your own installation team does not automatically mean it can carry out every task. US exhibition venues may have rules on the use of union labour. Check the allocation of work separately for areas such as stand assembly, electrical installations and suspended elements.
There is no single practical rule that applies to every US exhibition. McCormick Place in Chicago allows exhibitors' employees to work on their own stands under certain conditions. Those rights do not automatically extend to external stand contractors. That distinction matters when planning your team.
Read the McCormick Place Exhibitor Bill of Rights
What should you arrange in advance? Specify who carries out, orders and supervises each task. Have this allocation checked against the current exhibitor manual and venue conditions. If anything is unclear, ask for written confirmation.
Transport to the exhibition venue and material handling at the venue are separate services. Handling is also known as drayage. Freeman describes it as unloading, delivery to the stand, storage and return of empty packaging, and removal after the show. Its guide identifies shipment weight as the basis for charging.
What should you arrange in advance? Ask what your exhibition's handling charge includes and how it is calculated. Budget separately for transport and handling. Consider packed weight when making design choices and discuss which components could be sourced locally. A lighter construction is only a better choice if its function, finish and total project costs also make sense.
A small change can involve several people: someone to approve the message, a designer to update the file and an installer on site. If those teams work at different times, an unanswered question can hold up the next step.
What should you arrange in advance? Record deadlines with the date, local time and time zone. Agree who can approve changes and who will be available during build-up. Keep the latest approved drawings and files in one agreed location. Also establish who makes decisions when the usual contact is unavailable.
A budget becomes clearer when it shows the work required alongside the rate: which task, how many people and what period. Also ask about the conditions for overtime, minimum bookings, waiting time and cancellation. McCormick Place directs exhibitors to the relevant service contractor for the different labour rate periods. Check these for your suppliers and exhibition.
What should you arrange in advance? Ask for planned hours, possible surcharges and uncertainties to be explained separately. Agree who can authorise additional work and how this is recorded. Review the sequence of deliveries and installation together so you know what each crew needs before it can start.
A machine returning to Europe, materials staying in the USA and products given away do not automatically receive the same customs treatment. Before shipping, prepare a goods list that also records the intended use and destination after the exhibition.
An ATA carnet may be an option for certain temporary imports, but it is not a universal solution for everything you send to a trade show. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO, notes US restrictions by intended use. Ask a customs specialist or freight forwarder to determine which procedure and documents suit your goods, even if you have previously used a carnet for another country.
Read RVO's guidance on export documents and temporary imports into the USA (in Dutch)
What should you arrange in advance? Assign someone to maintain the goods list and communicate changes. Agree who prepares the documents, monitors clearance and records the return journey. Also have any additional product or packaging requirements checked.
- Who can carry out each task, and where is this confirmed?
- Which costs relate to transport and which to handling?
- Who makes decisions during build-up, and which time zone applies to deadlines?
- Which labour requirements and conditions underpin the labour budget?
- Which goods will return, and what documents are required?
As the person responsible for the exhibition, you do not have to carry out every detail yourself. You do need to know who is responsible and which decisions remain open. Discuss these points at the briefing stage, alongside your exhibition objectives, stand layout and available budget.
Discuss your US exhibition plans
Expoteam supports stand-building projects from the initial briefing and design through to on-site delivery. For projects in the USA, we bring local rules, logistics and coordination with on-site teams together during preparation.
Read more about our exhibition stand construction in America
Explore our process from briefing to delivery
Planning your first US exhibition? Bring the exhibition name, location, stand dimensions and any drawings to an initial, no-obligation conversation. Together, we can discuss the preparation your project requires.