First Time Exhibitor

Union Workers Employed by McCormick Place

McCormick Place employs an in-house division called McCormick Place Technology Services to fulfill the internet and telecommunications needs of the Event Planners and their Exhibitors. If you have any questions about jurisdictions, please contact your Account Representative.

• Communication Service Technicians: Responsible for the installation, repair and dismantle of all voice and data service including fiber optics and Internet installations, as well as performing all in-booth voice and data wiring of exhibitor- owned telecommunications equipment.

Unions Employed by Event Service Contractors

Your Event Service Contractor hires the following trade unions. If you have any questions about jurisdictions, please contact your Account Representative.

• Carpenters: Responsible for un-crating of exhibits and display materials; installing and dismantling exhibits including cabinets, fixtures, shelving units, furniture; laying of floor tile and carpets; hanging structural signs; re-crating of exhibits and machinery; installing and dismantling scaffolding, bleachers and ganging of chairs; and the installation of signs.
• Cleaning: The show’s official service contractor is responsible for and provides overall cleaning in the exhibit hall and occasionally event registration and services area depending on location. It is the exhibitor’s responsibility to hire porter service through the general service contractor to provide carpet and booth cleaning or to pick up excess debris during show hours. However, if an exhibitor leaves excessive debris behind at the end of the show, McCormick Place will dispose of it and bill the exhibitor for the service accordingly. Excess debris includes literature, lumber, skids and pallets, carpet, products or waste from a product or demonstration.
• Decorators: Responsible for hanging all signs and installing all drape, cloth and/or tacked fabric panels. Decorators are also responsible for Velcro signs used in a booth that require tools or more than one person for installation. Exhibitors may hang their own signs using any other type of fastener as long as no tools or ladders are required and the total time to hang the sign does not exceed ½ hour. Exhibitors may also skirt tables provided they do it with their own custom-fit skirts without the use of staples, snaps or Velcro.
• Electricians: Responsible for assembly, installation and dismantle of any equipment that uses electricity as a sources of power and draws power from the building electrical system. In addition, they are responsible for electrical wiring, hookups and interconnections, electrical signs, video and audio taping and cable television hookups.
• Plumbers: Responsible for all plumbing, including the installation and tear out of tanks, compressed air, water, drain, natural gas, bottled pressurized gases, water filling and draining of tanks, installation and removal of all venting to the atmosphere, anchoring and welding.
• Projectionists: Responsible for load-in, set-up, and staging of any and all equipment (including, but not limited to, motion picture, video, holography, laser, slide and film) used for the projection of an image on a screen or surface.
• Riggers: Responsible for un-crating, un-skidding, positioning and re-skidding all machinery. Exhibitors may carry in computers and appliances provided the movement may be reasonably done by hand. Exhibitors may remove small computers and appliances from crates or boxes provided work is done without a forklift or any power equipment. Exhibitors removing large items, which require the use of tools to release/remove restraining straps, would require rigging labor.
• Stagehands: Responsible for public performances of theatrical events that require temporary installation of lighting and audio equipment, including the installation, operation and removal of such equipment.
• Teamsters: Responsible for the handling of all material (except machinery) in and out of the exhibit hall. Exhibitors may carry in small packages, including pop-up booths, provided they can be hand-carried. Four wheel dollies are not permitted. If you have any additional questions regarding the movement of freight, contact your show’s official service contractor.

McCormick Place Technology Services Department Tradesmen

The communication service technicians can work around the clock to install or dismantle a show. Labor rates depend on when they perform the work:

ST- Straight Time / OT- Overtime / DT- Double Time

If an exhibitor or EAC needs to work past 4:30 pm during setup, you must notify the McCormick Place Technology Services Department Service Desk no later than 1:30 pm that same day. If you need to schedule labor prior to 8 am for the following day, you must notify the McCormick Place Technology Department Service Desk no later than 1:30 pm the day before.

Official Service Contractor Tradesmen

Contact your Service Contractor to obtain information on straight time/overtime/double time work periods for the union services they will be providing.

Contacting your Show Organizer and the event’s General Contractor is the best way to find out information regarding move-in, show operation, and move-out as well as other activities that will occur during the event.

The show organizer will send you an Exhibitor Manual prior to the show. The manual contains event specific information and ordering forms for suppliers selected by the show organizer to service exhibitors. Taking the time to work with these official service contractors along with the McCormick Place team of skilled workers will keep you on the path of easy move-in and move-out, leaving you the time to focus on showing your product.

If you find that you have a need that is not found in the Exhibitor Manual, it is suggested that you contact the show organizer.

Please contact your show organizer to discuss your needs. Many organizers have specific guidelines for space use outside of the exhibit hall. If appropriate, you will then be referred to a McCormick Place representative.

The first thing to do is to find your booth space – most every show is arranged in an aisle format. When you received your space confirmation from the organizer, a space identification number was given to you.

Once you locate your booth area, double check to see that it is the correct size that your company contracted for.

Next, proceed to the Exhibitor Service Center area. Here you will find representatives from all official service contractors and McCormick Place Technology Services Department.

Check in with all contractor representatives that you have placed orders with.

The McCormick Place Technology Services Department is responsible for the delivery internet, telecommunications and cable tv services. From the time you place your order through move out our Customer Service Managers are here to serve you in a professional, efficient and user-friendly manner.

McCormick Place offers the following:

• Internet Service: A full line of internet connectivity solutions that provide continuous, Dedicated access to the internet at a variety of speeds.

• Telecommunications:
    • Single and multi-line service.
    • Outside vendor service (POTS, ISON, and TI) is through SBC.

• Cable TV: Provided by Comcast. (Available in South and West buildings only)

The McCormick Place Technology Services Department is more than the labor team that helps you during move-in:

• Service Managers are your first point of contact. They are here to help you place your technology order, answer questions about services, and be your liaison to in-house tradesmen on planning services for specific needs. They are your “go to” contact located at the Service Desk.

• Telecom Installers are responsible for the installation, repair, and dismantle of all voice and data services, including fiber optics and internet installations. They also perform all in-booth voice and data wiring for customer-owned telecommunications equipment.

• Infrastructure Technicians are responsible for the configuration, administration and support of all wired and wireless services. They also perform in-booth customer service including customer device configuration, confirmation and verification of installed services.

A conventional order is an order in which you pay for the costs of your technology services when ordered and are billed on event site for the costs of labor, equipment and materials required for installation and removal of your booth services.

Depending on when you place your order, there are 2 rate options:

Advance Rates apply when your complete order and payment are received by us on or before our deadline date, typically 14 days prior to the first move-in day. This can save you up to 50% on your charges!

Standard Rates apply to:

1. Late Orders – received after the deadline date.
2. Partial Orders – received without full payment or floor plans.
3. On-Site Orders – received once you have arrived at McCormick Place OR you find that you need to change a previous order.

There are a two options available to you for placing technology orders:

1. You can place your technology order online by clicking HERE
2. Forms can be found in the McCormick Place Technology Services Ordering Guide and Facility Information. The Ordering Guide will be included in the Exhibitor Kit given to you by the show organizer. You can email completed forms to technology@mccormickplace.com

Federal Tax ID Number: 36-6009091
Illinois Tax ID Number: E9988509303

Technology Orders:
During the show, you will receive an on-site billing statement for your technology services including installation and dismantle labor (if applicable). Before leaving the show, all billing statement must be paid in full.

• Telephone usage: (If applicable), a billing statement will be available on site. However, it will not include telephone usage. A final invoice will be sent out within 2 weeks of the close of the event.
• Internationally billed companies, a usage deposit of $300 per line is required. Including the deposit at the time of your initial order will ensure that you will be able to call out as soon as you plug your telephone into the line. If your total usage is less than then the deposit, the balance will be applied towards any outstanding charge.

Payment may be made by credit card or company check.  Regardless of the method of payment, an approved credit card must be on file.

If an agent (i.e., Exhibitor Appointed Contractor or EAC) is hired to handle display and/or billing for services, the exhibitor and this agent must complete a third party authorization. Upon confirmation of a satisfactory credit rating of the agent, third party billing arrangements will be made.

All payments must be in U.S. funds drawn on a U. S. bank. Make checks payable to “McCormick Place / SMG.”

Federal Tax Identification # 36-6009091
Illinois Tax Identification # E9988509303

Please contact the Service Manager to inform us that you want to cancel your order.

• Cancellation policy:

• Full Cancellation, if installed and used, full cost will be charged.
• Full Cancellation, if installed, but not yet used, a fee in the amount of 10% of the value of the service order plus the installation labor cost will be charged.
• Partial cancellation of communication services ordered: If not installed, no cancellation fees will be charged.
• Partial cancellation of communication services ordered: If installed, but not yet used, a fee of 10% plus the installation labor costs will be charged.
• If installed and used – services cannot be cancelled of refunded.

An advance order applies to the rate that you have been charged; it does NOT mean that services are installed prior to your arrival.

Upon checking in at the McCormick Place Technology Services Desk, technicians will be dispatched to install the services that you have ordered.

We urge you to submit a floor plan showing placement of services ordered. When possible, this will enable us to install your service prior to your arrival.

Click HERE for more information on service offering.

Click HERE for more information on service offering.

Click HERE for more information on service offering.

We provide cable access, however it is only available in the South and West Buildings. Please contact us for further information at technology@mccormickplace.com or call (312) 791-6113.

Whenever you have a question, we are only a call or a click away!

McCormick Place Technology Services Department
Phone: 312-791-6113
Email: Technology@mccormickplace.com
Online Ordering: technology@mccormickplace.com
Invoice Inquiries
Phone: 312-791-6113
Email: technology@mccormickplace.com
AT&T (for outside vendors)
Phone: 877-377-4153
Email: chicago.goved.dsgclt@rdsmail.ims.att.com

Service Management Team

Jennifer Eason
312-791-7123
jeason@mccormickplace.com
Pedro Larios
312-791-7159
plarios@mccormickplace.com
Gloria D. Jackson
312-791-7156
gjackson@mccormickplace.com
Joey Lynn Pinaglia
312-791-6246
jpinaglia@mccormickplace.com
Giuliano Rizzi
312-791-6211
grizzi@mccormickplace.com

There are 2 options available to you. First, contact the show organizer to find out who has been selected as the Official Service Contractor. This contractor is a primary source for information about planning for an exhibit in the United States. In addition to managing the logistics of the show and supervising many of the labor groups working on the event, the Official Service Contractor can also provide rental booths that can be customized to your needs.

Another option is to hire an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (EAC). EACs offer the opportunity of managing your show experience at your direction. EACs not only can provide the labor to install and dismantle your booth and managing communication with the service suppliers to the show, some organizations can also design a booth to meet your particular needs.

Important Tips to Save You Money with The Technology Services Department at McCormick Place.

Following are some of the most important tips that will help contribute to a successful event and save you money.

• Save time by ordering your services via our Online Ordering System. Visit us https://www.mccormickplace.com/exhibitors/online-ordering/.
• Provide floor plans with all service orders.
• If you are ordering Internet services, please call Technology Services at 312-791-6113 to ensure the services you are ordering are correct for your needs.
• Please pay attention to the DEADLINE DATE. Having your order, floor plans and full payment submitted by your DEADLINE DATE will save you approximately 33% on your order.
• Be sure to check in at our Service Desk upon your arrival to notify our staff when you are ready for your services.
• McCormick Place requires an approved credit card to be on file for all orders, regardless of the method of payment you select. Please be sure to submit this information when placing your order to prevent any processing delays.