(Atlanta - Feb. 28) - SouthPack, the biennial southeast packaging show, will expand in 2005 to include Design & Manufacturing South and PLASTEC South features at the Georgia World Congress Center. The show, slated for April 13-14, features more than 600 companies serving the southeast packaging, design & manufacturing, and plastics industries.

PLASTEC South showcases every aspect of plastics processing, while Design & Manufacturing South offers broad-based design and manufacturing solutions. In addition to the expanded exposition, SouthPack will feature an informative conference program covering the latest marketing strategies and technology updates. Among the topics are: Creating a Sensational New Brand or Revitalizing an Old One, RFID: The Basics and Beyond, Design Tools and Techniques, and Automation .

With nearly 258,000 professionals and $58 billion in shipments each year, the southeast region is a hotbed for plastics processing and manufacturing. The expanded show will serve this growing region as the total resource for design, manufacturing and packaging of products and services for the automotive, food and beverage, cosmetics and personal care, transportation, medical, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical, and machinery industries.

"Expanding SouthPack is a natural extension of Canon's winning strategy of creating one-stop resources for the industry-a strategy which has proven successful on both the east and west coasts," said Diane O'Connor, Tradeshow Director. "Not only do designers and manufacturers fulfill all their requirements in one event-saving time and travel expenses-but exhibiting suppliers gain incredible business opportunities by penetrating the additional markets served by these new expo features."

Produced and managed by Canon Communications LLC, SouthPack, Design & Manufacturing South and PLASTEC South are part of the company's worldwide family of trade events. Information on them can be found at www.canontradeshows.com .