AWWA ACE 2027 · June 13–16, 2027 · San Diego Convention Center, San Diego
AWWA ACE 2027 booth design & build in San Diego
Custom and rental exhibits for pumps, valves, meters, treatment systems and utility software, built so an operator can put a hand on the hardware. Engineered equipment supports, process graphics that trace the water, and union labor and drayage at the San Diego Convention Center handled by your Purple project manager.
- June 13–16, 2027
- San Diego Convention Center
Every last fee for AWWA ACE, listed upfront and in full on paper. Since 2015 · 10,000+ booths built · 3,000+ exhibitors served · 4.9★ client rating
Worker in blue sleeves inspecting pipework in an industrial plant
01 Purple at AWWA ACE 2027
What makes AWWA ACE different, and how we build for it
ACE is the water industry's annual meeting, and its floor is built for people who run systems, not just buy for them. The Pipe Tapping, Top Ops, Hydrant Hysteria and AWWA Meter Challenge competitions fill the hall with operators who judge hardware by how it handles, and the Tap Water Taste Test draws the utility crowd back to the floor. More than 20 education tracks keep utility teams on site all three days, with sponsors like Mueller, Xylem and Kamstrup setting the standard for the big islands. A booth that shows where your product sits in the process, then lets an engineer inspect the component and sit down with a drawing, gets the follow-up meeting.
A clear application story from the aisle, a private table for capital planning and procurement conversations, and staff who can talk lifecycle cost rather than specifications.
Cutaways, sample assemblies and system drawings close together, with room for two or three colleagues to inspect a component and ask installation questions.
Hands-on access to pumps, valves, meters and monitoring screens, with maintenance and access points visible and a demo they can operate themselves.
Your team in San Diego
One project manager, two shops, the whole AWWA ACE build
Production happens in our own shop in Fishkill, NY, and at our Las Vegas hub, and we ship to the San Diego Convention Center and install with vetted local labor, led by our own project manager on the floor. A predictable 30–45-day turnaround, secure storage and a pre-show QA before AWWA ACE.
At AWWA ACE, your team walks into a booth that is lit and stocked. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for AWWA ACE 2027
Popular booth sizes at AWWA ACE
ACE floors mix large islands from the pump, valve and meter manufacturers with hundreds of 10×10 and 10×20 inlines from instrumentation, chemical and software companies. Exhibitors here usually land between a 10×20 with one equipment feature and a 20×30 island with a working demo and a drawing table.
Two or three products arranged as steps in a treatment or distribution sequence, a cutaway on a stand and a small table for drawings.
Above: Rahman Group, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
The process graphic runs the full back wall, so each bay holds one stage: the component on its plinth, a cutaway with a monitoring screen, and a drawing table within a step of both.
Pictured: dmi digital illustrate inc., a Purple inline booth
See 10×30 rental booths →
A full-size pump or treatment skid with circulation around it, a monitoring screen at eye level, a hanging sign and an open meeting area.
Pictured: Eonmetall, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
A live circulation loop with containment, grouped product families, a demo theater for operators and enclosed meeting rooms for utility procurement teams.
Above: Senzani, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's AWWA ACE price
- Design and a 3D rendering for AWWA ACE, revised until it is right
- Structure, printed graphics, counters and storage, as specified for AWWA ACE
- Lighting plus power distribution within the booth at AWWA ACE
- Install and dismantle at AWWA ACE, led by our project manager on the floor
- Show-service orders and deadlines for AWWA ACE, tracked on your behalf
Paid to AWWA ACE and its contractor
- Your AWWA ACE booth space, paid to the organizer
- Drayage, or material handling, when it is not in the AWWA ACE space rate
- Electrical, internet and rigging orders for AWWA ACE
- Booth cleaning, and union labor where the San Diego Convention Center requires it
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is on paper before you sign.
Prices are all-in 2026 rental ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle; custom builds are quoted per project. Want an exact number for San Diego? Use the booth cost calculator or the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. We reply within one business day, then send a rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Our booths, designed, built and installed, to compare for AWWA ACE
Case study · Shapoorji Pallonji
Shapoorji Pallonji at an engineering and infrastructure exhibition
A structured, powerful booth for a global engineering group founded in 1865, built to communicate scale, trust and engineering excellence.
Read the Shapoorji Pallonji case study All case studies →“They handle everything end to end so clients can really just show up and not worry about anything. Doesn’t get any better than that.”
Tess Bockes, Exit King Realty · more Purple client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for water and wastewater technology brands at AWWA ACE
Four things we get right for AWWA ACE exhibitors
1Start with the application, not the spec
We open the booth with the water problem your product solves, then locate it in a simple treatment, distribution or monitoring sequence. Visitors understand where the hardware fits before they read a single specification, and your specialist can move from the aisle pitch to the engineering detail without losing anyone.
2Decide wet, dry or cutaway early
A live loop needs containment, power, drainage, an operating cycle and supervision. A dry assembly or cutaway can explain the same principle with a smaller scope. We settle this before the drawing is final because it changes the counter, the supports, setup time and reset between demos.
Engineer the equipment supports
Pumps, valves and treatment assemblies shape the whole plan. We take your packed weights, dimensions, transport configuration and viewing orientation, then design plinths and mounts that hold the load, keep moving parts behind a clear boundary and give operators safe access to the details.
Give the drawing a seat
Utility conversations move between a physical component and a system drawing. We put a meeting surface within a step of the display so an engineer can point at both, with a screen for digital tools positioned at a readable height and storage for samples and literature inside the furniture.
Concept rendering
Every proposal comes with a rendering like this
Layout, graphics, lighting and product positions are all in the 3D view, revised until right, before a single panel is cut for AWWA ACE. Pictured: a Purple concept for Exposome.
Start my AWWA ACE concept05 San Diego Convention Center · San Diego
Logistics for AWWA ACE 2027, handled
The San Diego Convention Center runs a union floor, so installation and dismantle are union work under the show contractor agreement, and heavy water equipment goes to the dock on a target date rather than through the lobby doors. Our planning rate for San Diego drayage is about $176 per hundredweight with a 200-pound minimum, and we build that into your quote. We read the ACE27 exhibitor kit, file the booth forms, book your material handling and targets, ship to the advance warehouse three weeks out and send your Purple project manager to run the install with the union labor. The Marriott Marquis, Manchester Grand Hyatt and Gaslamp Quarter hotels are a short walk, and San Diego International is 10 to 15 minutes out.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for the building that hosts AWWA ACE are in our San Diego Convention Center exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- ACE27 exhibitor kit, booth forms and target dates
- Engineered supports for pumps, valves, skids and cutaways
- Containment and utility planning for wet demos
- Graphics printed in house and proofed against your brand
- Freight to the AWWA ACE advance warehouse and drayage paperwork
- Union installation and dismantle run by your project manager, plus return shipping
AWWA ACE timeline, counted back from move-in
- Early April 2027Design sign-off, equipment weights and utility needs locked, island drawings submitted where required.
- April to mid-May 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; supports built to your equipment, process graphics proofed against your brand.
- Late May 2027Booth and equipment supports ship to the ACE27 advance warehouse in San Diego.
- June 11–13, 2027Targeted move-in; union labor installs and levels the equipment while your project manager walks the pre-show punch list.
- June 14–16, 2027Exhibit hall open; a Purple project manager is on call through the 1pm close on Wednesday.
- June 16–17, 2027Dismantle, equipment packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next show.
Purple's planning timeline for AWWA ACE. We confirm the official move-in, freight target and order deadlines for the San Diego Convention Center against your booth when you book; they come from your exhibitor kit and assigned schedule.
Print the AWWA ACE budget & deadline sheetAWWA ACE exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before AWWA ACE
How much does a 20×20 at AWWA ACE cost?
A 20×20 rental island runs $16,000 to $40,000 and a custom 20×20 runs $50,000 to $120,000, all in for design, structure, graphics and installation. A 10×20 inline rental lands between $7,500 and $15,000. Equipment supports, wet demos and technical AV move the number; send us weights and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install heavy equipment at the San Diego Convention Center?
Yes, heavy equipment is routine for us: we design plinths and mounts from your equipment weights and dimensions, route the heavy pieces to the dock on a target date, and your Purple project manager directs the union labor on the floor as it sets, levels and secures every piece before you arrive.
Can we rent a booth for AWWA ACE?
Yes. Rental structures with your graphics, custom equipment displays and a hybrid of the two are all available. Most first-time ACE exhibitors start with a 10×20 rental, add a custom product plinth and upgrade the whole booth once the show earns its place in the budget.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off by early April gives a comfortable 30 to 45 day build and a late-May ship date to the advance warehouse. Later is possible; the trade-off is choice of finishes, rush freight and less time to test a wet demo before it leaves our shop.
Do you handle the show contractor orders and drayage?
We file the exhibitor forms that concern the booth, order material handling, electrical, rigging and any water or drain service the demo needs, and keep you copied on every deadline. Drayage is budgeted at the San Diego planning rate up front, so there are no surprises on the final invoice.
Before you sign for AWWA ACE
Five things to ask every builder quoting AWWA ACE:
- Is every fee on the proposal, including what the AWWA ACE show contractor bills?
- Who actually builds it for AWWA ACE: your shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor at the San Diego Convention Center for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what does AWWA ACE bill?
- Where does the booth go after AWWA ACE, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it to the San Diego Convention Center, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for and bring it to AWWA ACE.
Exhibiting from outside the US? For AWWA ACE, we act as your team on the ground: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, and one project manager who answers your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready for AWWA ACE in two to three weeks. We say on the first call what is realistic for your show date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your AWWA ACE booth
What happens next
- We reply within one business day with questions about your products, goals and AWWA ACE footprint.
- Usually within a week, you receive a concept rendering and a fixed AWWA ACE proposal. Every last fee for AWWA ACE, listed upfront and in full on paper.
- In 30–45 days we build it, ship it to the advance warehouse and install it before the hall opens.
