CANON COMMUNICATIONS Acquires Midwest Packaging Event MidPak to Become Part of Company's Co-Located Event Series.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2002

CANON COMMUNICATIONS LLC today announced that it has acquired the MidPak trade show from the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP). The show, which serves the broad base of consumer, business and industrial packaging sectors in the Midwest, adds to CANON'S expanding lineup of trade shows and publications serving the packaging industry, including the WestPack, EastPack, and SouthPack shows, and Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News, Cosmetic/Personal Care Packaging, and Nutritional Outlook magazines.

"The acquisition broadens our already substantial portfolio of products serving the $104 billion U.S. packaging industry," said CANON President and CEO William Cobert. "We have succeeded in serving the high-tech design and manufacturing needs of Midwest companies since 1994 with our MD&M show in Minneapolis, and we are eager to build upon this foundation through the addition of MidPak."

Launched in 1964, MidPak showcases manufacturers and distributors of packaging machinery, materials, components, containers and supplies, automation/handling equipment and systems, and allied support services. Beginning in October 2003, it will co-locate annually with CANON's Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) Minneapolis show at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

"Our co-location program provides enhanced opportunities to both exhibitors and attendees, as most recently demonstrated by the placement of EastPack alongside our design, manufacturing, and plastics shows in New York this past June," said Diane O'Connor, CANON'S Trade Show Director. "We are confident that co-locating MidPak and MD&M Minneapolis will once again be a winning strategy for the markets we serve."

CANON COMMUNICATIONS LLC is a leading publisher and tradeshow producer serving the medical device, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, packaging, electronics, semiconductor fabrication, injection molding, and other advanced technology markets. The company's expanding array of titles includes Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry, Medical Product Manufacturing News, European Medical Device Manufacturer, Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News, IVD Technology, Medical Electronics Manufacturing, MX, Compliance Engineering, MICRO, Medical Device Register, Medical Device Register International, Nutritional Outlook, Cosmetic/Personal Care Packaging, Plastics Auxiliaries & Machinery, and Injection Molding Magazine.

CANON'S premier marketplace events and information forums include WestPack, EastPack, SouthPack, and MidPak; Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) conferences and expositions in California and New York, and a regional MD&M event in Minnesota; the Medical Equipment Design & Technology Exhibition & Conference (MEDTEC) in Germany, and a regional MEDTEC event in Ireland. The company's Atlantic Design & Manufacturing, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, and OEM New England shows are horizontal events for design and manufacturing professionals and their suppliers across a broad spectrum of industries. PLASTEC East and PLASTEC West are full-featured, all application shows for the plastics processing industry. The Nutritionals Symposium and Exhibition serves the nutraceutical and functional foods manufacturing/processing market. For information on CANON events, visit www.canontradeshows.com.

For more information, contact CANON COMMUNICATIONS LLC, 11444 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif., 90064 USA; Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; www.cancom.com.