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Will bigger be better for business expo?

JANESVILLE — Size, say the folks organizing this year's annual business and marketing expo, does matter.

That's why the annual event, which for years has been all about Janesville, is shifting to a new location and expanding its effort to promote regional economic development.

The Rock Regional Business & Marketing Expo will be Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Helgesen Industrial Center, 2929 Venture Dr., Janesville.

Primarily designed for business-to-business marketing, the event this year will bring together members of chambers of commerce in Janesville, Beloit, Milton, Evansville, Edgerton, Delavan and Fort Atkinson in an effort to promote the region.

Everything at this year's event will be big, said Laurie Huml Eckert, a vice president at Forward Janesville.

That starts with the venue, a 700,000-square-foot facility that's been renovated since being vacated last year by LSI, a supplier to the Janesville General Motors plant.

"With the economy the way it's been, we knew when we started putting this together that we had to do something different," Huml Eckert said. "And this great building was available, and we didn't know if we'd ever have the chance again.

"In fact, we hope we don't, that it will be filled soon."

For years, the event had been at the Holiday Inn Express & Janesville Conference Center, which allowed about 90 booths. As of Friday, about 120 spaces had been spoken for at the new venue, Huml Eckert said.

Although the event won't use all of the building's space, it will allow displays that couldn't be accommodated at the previous location: a double-decker Van Galder Bus, a Budweiser semi, a "Blackbridge Bowl"-ing alley, an Anasazi live spa and a Janesville Jets slapshot competition.

There will still be room for former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown, who gave new meaning to "super size," and his "Deal or No Deal" game show.

The daylong event will also feature an award presentation and seminars such as "The Future of Work," "Market Yourself in an Already Crowded Market," and "Staying Up When the Economy is Down."

A Business After Five will wrap up the day's events.

Bill McCoshen, a founding member and president of the Janesville Jets, will deliver a luncheon speech on economic development in the region.

"His talk will certainly pump up the region," Huml Eckert said.

Regionalism—communities working together to attract new businesses—is an important facet of this year's event.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to show off the interest and enthusiasm in this region," said James Otterstein, Rock County's economic development manager.

Huml Eckert said site selection consultants have been invited to the event.

The general public is encouraged to attend, as well, if for no other reason than to see Helgesen Development Corp's remarkable renovation of the massive facility, she said.