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International CES Adding ‘Smart’ Majaps

Arlington, Va. – The
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), in concert with the Association of Home
Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), is adding a Connected Home Appliances TechZone
to the 2011 International CES in January.

The 10,000-square-foot section, to
be located in the South Hall of the Las
Vegas Convention Center,
will showcase “smart” countertop and major appliances that can be integrated
into a connected-home network, or that can communicate with local utilities to
modify energy consumption during peak-demand periods.

The new exhibition area “is a
natural extension of the CES show floor,” said CEA president/CEO Gary Shapiro,
“with products designed to network and connect, improving the lives of
consumers throughout the home.”

Co-sponsored by CEA, AHAM and The
Retail Observer, the majap TechZone was created “in response to strong
demand from current and future CES exhibitors,” Shapiro said. CES exhibitors
with a significant appliance portfolio include LG, Samsung and Sharp, while
Whirlpool, the world’s largest majap maker, has long maintained a South Hall
presence, either alone or in concert with other companies, to demonstrate
connected-home and smart-grid appliances.

LG, for one, is currently “evaluating this opportunity,” and
applauds CEA and AHAM for creating it, “especially now, with the growing
importance of connected home appliances and energy-efficient products,” VP John
Taylor told TWICE.

Samsung is similarly deciding whether it will exhibit in the
TechZone space, a company spokesperson told TWICE, while Whirlpool said it is
just entering the early stages of its trade show planning for 2011 and could not
yet provide details on its CES strategy.

In a statement, AHAM president Joseph McGuire said, “The world’s
leading technology trade show is the ideal venue for AHAM members and other
appliance manufacturers to showcase these technologies and the connected-home
concept.” He added, the home is an essential component to an effective energy smart
grid, and that smart appliances and CE “will allow consumers to save money on
their electric bill and use energy in a more environmentally friendly manner.”

A CEA spokesperson said industry interest in the new section is
very strong. “For manufacturers, retailers, homebuilders and integrators,
attending a single trade show that features the entire technology value chain –
encompassing more than 20,000 new products each year for the whole home, not
just one or two rooms – is the most efficient and effective business trip
imaginable.”

An AHAM spokeswoman stressed that the smaller-format TechZone “in
no way is … intended to replace any of the [appliance] industry’s primary
shows,” ostensibly the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (

K/BIS

) and the International
Builders Show (IBS). “This is a unique, smaller exhibit space which will allow
manufacturers to showcase advanced designs in efficiency and show support for
the integration of technology into today’s home,” she said.

Space for the new appliance TechZone has been officially floored
and the wait/priority list is now open, CEA said. The trade group is anticipating
a mix of various booth sizes and configurations, much like the rest of the International
CES floor, and expects to draw exhibitors and attendees from the manufacturing,
retailing, wholesale, home-builder, integrator, supplier and utility sectors.

Companies interested in exhibiting should contact CES
business development director Ryan Strowger at

[email protected]

.

The 2011 International CES will be held Jan. 6-9, 2011.

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