At opposite ends of this year’s show floor at the Dallas Convention Center will be the United Fresh Produce Hall and the AMI Meat, Poultry and Seafood Processing Hall. Each of the two shows will also have their own educational sessions and other industry-specific events.

In addition, FMI has combined its Private Brands Summit with FMI2012.

“I think in general it’s always a positive development when you can broaden the opportunities that exist at any event, and I think this year we have tremendous opportunities with four shows essentially in one,” Sarasin said.

One of the advantages of combining shows, she pointed out, is that it can result in less traveling overall for industry executives attending these events.

“Like most industries, we are all looking for opportunities to do fewer trips, and attend fewer events if possible, spend less time on the road, and spend fewer resources in attending those events,” Sarasin said. “But we all want enhanced experiences when we are there. So what we are trying to do is make sure that the experience we provide at the FMI show is an enhanced experience, and one of the really important ways to do that is to co-locate the show with other events and other activities that our members are interested in.”