 The Metropolitan Pier and Exhibition Authority (MPEA) plans to open five FedEx Kinko’s business centers—four in the McCormick Place Convention Center (including the newly opened McCormick Place West facility) and one at Historic Navy Pier in Chicago—by mid September. These new FedEx Kinko’s locations in a major meetings and convention venue—McCormick Place has an estimated three million visitors annually—indicates that meeting facilities will continue to out-source their business centers services. In addition, it shows that onsite business centers are integral to FedEx Kinko’s ambitious growth projections for 2008.
"At FedEx Kinko's, we are aggressively working to expand our network of digitally-connected locations," said Ken  May, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Kinko's. "The new locations planned for McCormick Place and Navy Pier will enhance our ability to provide exhibitors and attendees with more centralized access to our products and services. Also, these centers are part of our expansion effort to open 320 new locations worldwide in the 2008 fiscal year."
 Due to its size and popularity as a convention venue, McCormick Place will be one of the few facilities able to host more than one FedEx Kinko’s business center—the Orange County Convention Center—in 1994, this venue opened the first on-site Kinko’s (before the merger with FedEx)—has four venues and the Georgia World Congress Center has two.
 The multiple outlets within one location will remain more the exception than the rule during the upcoming FedEx Kinko’s expansion. "It depends on the need of the venue and most venues don’t have a need," said Angela Benitez, Program Manager, Hospitality & Convention, FedEx Kinko’s. "If a venue has a need for an additional location or an extra location, which is based on the kinds of meetings they have, the number of attendees, obliviously we will work with them. During some events, we do set up remote shipping locations within the venue, but that mainly is to handle shipping needs, not the print and office services."
Of the 320 projected FedEx Kinko’s in 2008, Benitez would not specify the exact number that will be in meeting hotels and convention centers, but insisted, "we are pursuing this market aggressively." She estimated that anywhere  between 10 and 30 new meeting venues could open FedEx Kinko’s business centers and that dozens of contracts are in negotiations.
However, because of the nature of out sourcing the business centers, opening a FedEx Kinko’s in a meeting venue is a more complicated proposition than stand-alone locations. The construction of an on-site FedEx Kinko’s business center generally takes 4-to-8 weeks, according to Benitez. "Negotiations can take from weeks to more than a year. There are a lot of parties involved with these negotiations, whether it is a hotel that is part of a chain and you have to deal with corporate as well as the owners and the operators, or if it is a convention center, especially those that are government owned and operated, there are other parties involved with the negotiations. That can take time."
But in-spite of the contract complexities, the decision on whether to outsource business center services through FedEx Kinko’s business depends on simple math. "It is pure numbers, if there are enough customers for us to go after, we will go in and if there are enough numbers, than it is a draw for the hotel or the convention center."
At McCormick Place, the new FedEx Kinko's business centers will be located in the North, South, and West Buildings and Lakeside Center (formerly the East Building). These on-site locations will offer a full-range of business and office services, including copying and digital printing services, sign and banner production, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping options.
"We strive to provide our customers with the finest service and amenities, so we're happy to partner with a provider renowned for its excellence like FedEx Kinko's," said Juan Ochoa, chief executive officer of the MPEA. "We know our show organizers, exhibitors and attendees will appreciate the convenience of having these centers conveniently located at our facilities."
 In 2007, George R. Brown Convention Center opened an onsite FedEx Kinko’s, another sign of the growth in this segment. Other convention centers and meetings hotels with an onsite FedEx Kinko’s business center include: San Diego Convention Center, Minneapolis Convention Center, John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Jacob K. Javits Convention, Anaheim Convention Center, Seattle Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Convention Center/Denver,Marriott Marquis - Atlanta, GA, Marriott LA Airport - CA, Marriott - Anaheim, CA, Boca Resort & Club, Hilton Downtown - Atlanta, GA, Marriott - Irvine, CA, Marriott Desert Ridge, Marriott Downtown - Chicago, IL , Marriott Philadelphia, and Westin Kierland Resort
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