PRINTER news

According to Allegra Chairman Carl Gerhardt, the respective organizations had been in talks for the past few years about co-locating their annual franchisee get-
together. His longtime friendship with AlphaGraphics CEO Kevin Cushing didn't hurt, either.

“For some time, the vendors have been saying that there are too many shows,” Gerhardt says. “Combining the conventions makes it easier on them.” The idea itself was relatively simple: Combining the events allowed vendors to set up at a single expo as opposed to double the cost for individual booths at two shows. The conventions would remain separate; AlphaGraphics and Allegra franchisees wouldn’t be sitting in the same conference rooms at the same time.