Will a Trade Show Truss System Work For You?

Over the last few years, trade show truss systems have become quite popular. Wheras a few years ago truss was used primarily as decor, now you will find that truss exhibit kits exist as their own category.

A major advantage of truss is that it can support a lot of weight which helps in a number of ways. For one thing, it means that truss towers can easily go as high as 16', serving to get the company logo high up in the exhibit hall without having to resort to hanging signs (which require show labor to install).

Despite the advantages, truss booths are not for everyone. For companies planning on being in an in-line booth, that is in a 10 x 10' space and up for the life of the exhibit, truss may not be the most practical choice because while they can support weight, they also weigh a lot. Truss booths can weigh up to 450 lbs per 10' of exhibit versus about 85 lbs for a Pop Up Display. This also means higher shipping expenses. Truss ships in larger, and often cannot ship in UPS cases. They can also take longer to set up depending upon the elements included with the booth.

They do work, on the other hand for companies needing the sturdiness of truss and especially for those planning on expanding into a Truss Island Exhibit.

Truss is also good because it can expand incrementally, meaning that if you want to use components from a 10 x 10' exhibit to use in a tower, this is not only possible, but you can add to the height in one foot to eight foot sections.

Once you determine that truss is for you, a couple of the advantages are that truss systems support weight and display graphics well. Not only do they support the weight of a large variety of products but you can place as many plasma screens as you wish on the vertical truss pillars without having to invest in free standing exhibit modules. Truss systems have been designed to feature large format tension fabric graphics or standard mural panels.

In the time since this hub page was created, which was, wow, back in '07, there have been new developments in the world of trade show truss. At the 2009 Exhibitor Show in Las Vegas a new, portable truss system was introduced that alleviates the major disadvantage, in my mind, of truss. That is.... how it ships. Ten years ago truss systems had at least a 12" footprint. That dropped to 6" over the course of this decade but, even so, the pieces were large enough that the only sensible way to ship it was in a large tub.

Now, however, that has changed for some companies. If your exhibit requirement doesn't call for a system that can hold heavy duty weights (and most don't), you can use a portable system that provides the high-tech and attractive look of truss that packs into portable, UPSable shipping cases. You can even build island exhibits with this system.