35 years. One philosophy. A company that still makes things the hard way — on purpose.
In the trade show industry, the handshake still matters — not as a metaphor, but as a business model. Face-to-face contact drives product launches, closes deals, and builds the kind of client relationships that no digital channel has managed to replace. Kevin Fett, owner and CEO of Ion Exhibits, has built his career on that belief. This year, as Ion celebrates its 35th anniversary, it’s worth understanding why a company that could have outsourced everything chose instead to keep making things in-house — and what that decision has meant for the clients who trust Ion.
What Mr. Fett Saw in 2016
Kevin Fett came to Ion Exhibits the long way around. He spent years in the industry, watching it shift from low-quality portables to high-quality rentals and custom solutions. After selling his first company, he stepped into industry leadership as the EDPA Midwest Chapter President, which is where he met Mr. Mike Levi, Ion’s then-owner. The more Kevin learned about the company, the more he saw something worth building on.
Ion had stable sales and a loyal regional client base, but limited growth and no real national presence. What it did have was something harder to build from scratch: genuine internal manufacturing capability. Printing, fabrication, quality control — all in-house, all under one roof. “Ion is a manufacturing company first and foremost,” Kevin says. “That means we control quality and timelines. We’re not brokers. We don’t outsource what we can do better for our customers.”
He took over in 2016 and moved quickly. Investment went into equipment, people, and the facility itself. The team grew from around 25 people to nearly 50. Revenue roughly doubled within three years. Ion expanded its rental inventory — building one of the largest BeMatrix frame inventories in North America— and was among the first exhibit companies to develop significant in-house LED tile capabilities. The product range expanded from hard panels into fabric, giving clients more options and Ion more flexibility.
How the Industry Changed Around Them
The trade show industry looks different than it did in 1991 or in 2016. In the early years, companies treated shows as team-building opportunities — large delegations, big booths, a chance to get everyone together. That era has given way to something leaner and more deliberate. “Clients are wiser now,” Kevin says. “They want ROI. They want targeted outcomes — product launches, qualified leads, brand awareness with the right audience.”
That shift toward accountability drove one of the biggest structural changes in the industry: the rise of custom rental. Renting an exhibit costs roughly a third of a comparable purchase, with no long-term storage or logistics commitment. For companies exhibiting at multiple events each year, or testing new markets, it’s a smart financial decision. Ion had seen this trend coming and positioned accordingly. Their rental inventory — including their BeMatrix frame system and LED tile capabilities — gives clients the quality of a custom build without the capital commitment.
Post-COVID brought a different kind of change. The trade show industry had long operated without a formal SIC code — essentially invisible to the government as a defined sector. When the pandemic shut down live events entirely, that invisibility became a liability. Organizations like EDPA stepped into the gap, advocating for the industry and driving new levels of professional recognition: training programs, certifications, even university coursework. The industry that emerged from 2020 is more visible, more organized, and — as Kevin sees it — finally being understood as the billion-dollar sector it actually is.
What Has Never Changed
Through every shift in the market, Ion’s operating principles have stayed consistent. Manufacturing stays in-house. Quality control stays in-house. And the people who do the work are trained, trusted, and given ownership of what they do. Kevin describes a structure that builds from the bottom up rather than the top down — committees, cross-training, and a management team that leads through capability, not micromanagement. “Every employee touches a project in one way or another,” he says. “That upstream-downstream effect means everyone has a stake in the outcome.”
That culture is part of what Kevin is most proud of. Not the revenue growth or the expanded inventory — though both matter — but the team that makes it possible. Talented people who love what they do, working in an environment that gives them room to improve things.
The Next Chapter
At 35, Ion isn’t slowing down. Kevin is focused on deeper industry connections — through industry associations, trade shows and beyond — and on staying ahead of technology shifts that are already reshaping client expectations. AI is coming to the trade show world, and Kevin intends for Ion to be ahead of it rather than catching up to it.
For a first-time client, his pitch is simple: “We’re here for the long term. We’re experts and problem solvers, and we take pride in both. When our clients succeed — when they walk away from a show with new business, a launched product, or a stronger brand presence — that’s what ‘we did our job’ looks like for us.”
Thirty-five years in, trade shows still work. And if Kevin Fett has anything to say about it, they’ll continue to work.
By Dora Martin-Kovacs, Ion Exhibits