Our Story
Most creative companies
have a great story to tell.
This is ours.
IGE has done some of the greatest custom exhibit designs in the industry and won multiple design awards. With more than 20 years in the game, IGE is positioned as one of the premier full-service exhibit companies in the world.
1996
Founder
Designer and entrepreneur Gino Pellegrini was born in Latin America to Italian and Chilean parents. After immigrating to the United States in the early 90’s, he worked as a furniture designer and sold outdoor furniture for the family business to major retail chains like Price Club and Costco.
1996
The Beginning
In 1996 Gino makes his home in Colorado, where he establishes InterGlobal Exhibits, aspiring to design and build trade show exhibits. The company initiates operations as a general services business, working with American trade show organizers and their exhibitors. The work includes labor, furniture rental, staffing, creating logos and graphics, as well as full turn-key exhibits. These events generate relationships with important clients, which is the beginning of what is now known as IGE.
1996
Initial Relationships
The first major exhibit designed and built by IGE is for AT&T at a large telecommunications trade show called Softel. This client leads to developing important relationships with other significant clientele, including Lucent Technologies and Avaya.
1996
Mobile phone provider Nokia contracts IGE to handle the majority of their international trade shows, the first of which is in Colombia. Creating exhibits in Jamaica, Venezuela and Rio de Janeiro soon follow.
1996
Imagination and Trust
Back in the mid-90’s all design work was done by hand. Concepts, designs and technical drawings were sketched using drafting tables. Rush and international jobs did not permit any time to mail the original designs for client review. This meant that communication with clients was done via fax in black and white, so a lot of imagination and trust was required from our clients to approve the design work.
1997
Growth
IGE quickly outgrows its original small office in downtown Denver and relocates to a larger office/warehouse facility in Littleton, Colorado. The new space includes a comfortable design studio, modest exhibit fabrication capabilities and graphic production.
1997
New Friends
Lucent Technologies, once part of AT&T, contacts IGE after seeing our work at America’s Telecom Expo in Brazil. We are immediately hired to execute the design and build of all their exhibits in the United States and Latin America.
1997
3-D Designs
Because design is our main differentiation in the industry, we quickly begin using Form-Z 3-D software as our primary design tool, abandoning our previous hand-sketching techniques. Although 3-D software is common today, back then IGE was only one of very few utilizing this type of advanced technology. By this time we were also able to begin sharing designs via email, immediately and in full color, to our clients for reviews. Progress!
1998
Global Expansion
By the end of the 90’s IGE has built custom trade show exhibits for major corporations on most continents. This experience helps develop our sales and design skills exponentially. IGE becomes recognized as a company with an innovative design approach that is clean and simple, with a euro-design style and artistic flair.
A good example of this creative focus is the BAAN exhibit, a dutch Telecom company. The unique design features full wall projections that alternate between the four seasons, inspired by the violin concerto masterpiece by Vivaldi.
2000
Establishment
Now established as a Best-in-Class exhibit company, IGE serves both domestic and international markets. Activity gains momentum as the company wins multiple awards in Chile, Mexico and Argentina. Many North American-based brands take notice and begin hiring IGE for domestic projects.
2003
Corporate Events
As the business grows, additional staff is acquired, including talented designers, project managers, account managers and onsite supervisors. Expansion of the team introduces the ability to broaden our scope of projects to include corporate events and product launch experiences. These new ventures teach us valuable lessons about hosting live marketing events, from brand experience, to visuals, to lighting and sound. When Nokia contracts IGE to design and build the stage for the launch of their new cellular technology, the event opens with a special guest: an unknown singer named Shakira.
2004
Retail Industry
IGE expands its services to the retail industry, creating global retail experiences for major brands in the United States and overseas. We begin honing our skills in the design, build and implementation of displays and full retail environments.
2006
New Facilities
To accommodate growth and increase fabrication and warehouse capacity for the domestic market, IGE relocates its operations to new facilities in Englewood, Colorado.
2008
Designer of the Year Award
The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA) recognizes IGE founder Gino Pellegrini as
2010
Middle East
While IGE starts doing major trade show exhibits overseas for companies like Toyota and Mobily in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, Gino Pellegrini is featured on the cover of Event Design magazine. Coupled with 3 other notable awards this year, IGE is catapulted into the industry spotlight.
2011
U.S. Operations
IGE starts consolidating its operations in the U.S. with new, larger accounts, such as Procter and Gamble, Lockheed Martin and other major clients. The company facilities expand into a state-of-the-art design studio in Denver, as well as CNC Fabrication and Warehousing.
2011
Bright Lights
The firm introduces the use of LED lighting to its exhibit designs, a relatively new technology in the trade show industry. The variety of bright colors is a visually appealing element that offers an additional way for IGE clients to attract attention on the showroom floor.
2012
Innovation Award
IGE designs and builds a 5,750 square foot mega trade show experience for Sea Ray Boats. The project wins the Innovation Award for Best Boat Display at the Miami International and New York Boat Shows. The exhibit covers 12,000-square feet of the show floor with numerous Sea Ray boats and more than 40 monitors playing videos. It also allows visitors to use a custom Sea Ray app to browse product images, specifications and more.
2013
The 2013 Fab 50
IGE is selected as one of the top fabricators serving the U.S. event and exhibit industry by Event Marketer.
2014
Design Studio
IGE expands its design studio and acquires the latest technology for its 3-D designs with the inclusion of BOXX machines for real time exhibit design renderings.
2016
IGE Proprietary Software
After years of development, IGE implements VOZ in 2016. The visual operating system allows for the management of company operations on a single application via iPad, including sales briefings, work orders, event schedules, warehousing, inventory and shipping, as well as a client portal to track jobs.
2017
Consistent Class
IGE is again selected as one of the top 50 fabricators serving the domestic event and exhibit industry by Event Marketer. In addition, IGE is awarded recognition for an exhibit every year since 2009… and counting.
2018
Luxury Winner
Luxury kitchen appliance manufacturer JennAir contracts IGE to design and build a custom exhibit for the 2018 Architectural Digest Design Show in New York City. The entrance features floor-to-ceiling LED wall tiles playing the brand hero video, an 8-foot spinning custom cooktop cube and an 11-foot tall custom range “throne” made from thousands of molded oven knobs. The exhibit wins 'Best in Show.'
2019
Today
The company continues to design and create some of the most distinctive and memorable large-scale trade show exhibits and experiences on the circuit. Committed to its craft, IGE remains at the forefront of event and experiential marketing, trail-blazing new technologies to build and measure brand affinity for the world's top brands.
