Experience. Lakeshore.
Chicago’s
Custom Trade Show
Exhibit House
Custom trade show exhibits, designed, built, and installed by one Chicago shop. Keeping clients happy and coming back for 40 years.
“We ended up with a whole new booth design that really did elevate our brand the way we wanted to. Our competitors actually came over and complimented us on our booth!”
Built for the show floor and beyond
Lakeshore is a Chicago trade show display and exhibit company. We design and build custom trade show exhibits, booth rentals, and displays for McCormick Place and shows nationwide. We also build branded environments for Chicago-area companies: corporate lobbies, showrooms, offices, and exhibit spaces.
One shop, from first sketch to show floor
Lakeshore designs, builds, prints, ships, and installs trade show exhibits from our Chicago-area shop, 20 minutes from McCormick Place. You deal with one team from first conversation to teardown.
Designed and Built Under One Roof
Concept, 3D renderings, and fabrication all happen in our own shop, with our designers down the hall from our builders. One client calls it a “solution driven, anything’s possible philosophy.”
Graphics Printed In-House
Large-format booth graphics, banners, and signage are designed and printed right here in Chicago. We control the whole process, so we work to your schedule and deliver on time and on budget.
Lakeshore Crews Nationwide
Union-labor installation and dismantle at McCormick Place. We have our trusted ‘Lakeshore crew’: teams of experts in cities across the nation, so we work with the same expert craftsmen and installers, show after show.
Between Shows, We Look After It
We provide secure storage, repair, and refurbishment between events. Our staff anticipates your needs before you even have to ask, so your exhibit is always show-ready for the next date.
Trade show exhibits we’ve built
Recent projects, from 10 × 10 inlines to 100 × 150 islands.
See the full portfolio.
Featured project
Middleby Processing
50 × 100 island at IPPE
Lakeshore has designed and executed Middleby’s trade show program for more than 20 years. At IPPE 2024, Middleby Processing debuted this island, with a raised gloss-white floor, an LED hanging sign, and an LED video wall.
Featured project
Middleby Corporation
40 × 40 island at NACS
For NACS 2023, each Middleby brand got one leg of a tall, curvy, two-tiered structure under a single Middleby hanging sign. It came to be known as the “spider leg” booth.
The team building your next exhibit
Clients call us “solid, honest, fair people” who are “always ready with a solution.” Most of our team brings years, often decades, of trade show experience.
Larry Zuker
President & CEO
Has spent 37 years helping exhibitors make the most of every show.
Debra Satala
General Manager
30 years on every side of the trade show business, and the person who keeps your project moving.
Eric Montanez
Operations Manager
A mechanical engineer who works out how your exhibit gets built, shipped, and installed.
Mark Wittstock
Warehouse Manager
Looks after your exhibit in storage and gets it out the door for every show.
John Romero
Fabrication Shop Manager
37 years building exhibits. Nothing leaves his shop until it’s right.
Custom trade show displays, rentals, and full show services
Everything your trade show program needs, plus branded environments for the spaces between shows.
What our clients say about us
We’re honored and humbled by these glowing comments from the amazing people and companies we’ve served. Read all testimonials
“I changed jobs, but I certainly wouldn’t think of changing exhibit companies. I brought Lakeshore right along with me!”
Jeanette Brick
VP Food Service Sales & Marketing, ISI North America
“Their creative team came back with a look that exceeded our expectations – and met our budget!”
Dwayne Bates
Senior VP Aftermarket, Aisin World Corp. of America
“I’ve had the opportunity to see other exhibitors interact with their exhibit houses on the show floor, and none seem to compare to Lakeshore Exhibit Service.”
Matt Mason
Senior Communications Specialist, Wacker Chemical Corporation
“We believe our experience when dealing with the Lakeshore team is by far the best in the industry.”
Shawn DiGruccio
Executive Vice President, CDN (Component Design Northwest)
How a project works
What happens after you get in touch. See our full trade show process.
1. Discovery call
We learn about your goals, your show or your space, and your timeline.
2. Design and proposal
We show you a design, refine it with you, and send a complete proposal.
3. Build and install
Our shop builds it and our crews install it, on the show floor or in your building.
Start your project with Lakeshore
Tell us about your show or your space, your timeline, and what you need, and we’ll follow up.
Or email info@lakeshoreexhibits.com
Larry Zuker
President & CEO
Ask Larry Zuker about the past thirty-seven years, and he’ll tell you he has been on one incredible adventure! The Lakeshore team will tell you Larry’s genuine warmth and perpetual optimism are the heart of the company. A ‘glass half full’ kind of guy, Larry is more interested in brainstorming solutions than worrying about problems, and he’ll happily go every extra mile necessary to smooth any bumps in the road. Many of our clients will tell you his unique combination of skill, enthusiasm, and personal attention is a major reason they continue to partner with Lakeshore year after year. Larry’s passion for the tradeshow industry started before graduating college. Larry signed onto McCormick Displays part-time one summer for a single project while attending his alma mater, Western Illinois University. He soon fell in love with the business and continued on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After graduating, Larry was asked to join McCormick full time where he readily jumped in, honing his skills and aspiring to achieve what it takes to make a show successful – all while treating clients like they’re the one and only. He carried that motto with him all throughout his career which proved to be the key to developing and maintaining uncountable mutually rewarding relationships that continue to flourish year after year! His real education—and his magnetic people skills—were gained and applied while working alongside every client he’s ever worked with. Larry is the guy—the one you want on your project as part of your team, and the guy you want to celebrate with when the job is done!
On a personal note, Larry is devoted to his family and can be heard bragging all the time about his mom, sisters, and three amazing nephews—Ryan, Tyler & Kyle. He loves to travel whenever possible – Palm Springs, Marco Island, and Saugatuck Michigan in the summers where he also owns a home. Larry loves finding the best local food and can recommend all the top places to eat in every major tradeshow city! He’s always ready to treat his team and his clients to a great meal. Larry loves the water – being on the water, around the water or in the water! For several years, vacations were with the family down to the Lake of the Ozarks where they called a community of cottages home and a boat named…what else? Lakeshore1! After all the years, Larry still loves what he does and according to him, he “wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Debra Satala
General Manager
Debbie is Lakeshore’s General Manager. In her 30 years in the tradeshow industry, she has been involved in all sides of the business. From starting out with a general contractor, to selling to the industry, to being an exhibitor and finally landing at Lakeshore, there isn’t much that she hasn’t seen – and there definitely isn’t anything that she can’t handle! It’s the thinking on the fly while going 100 mph that keeps her hooked. In her down time (what’s that?), you’ll find her with her husband watching their two children participate in sports, or in their Wrangler with the doors off and top down – on to the next adventure!
Eric Montanez
Operations Manager
With an educational and career background in Mechanical Engineering as well as over 11 years of experience in the tradeshow industry, Eric joined the team in 2021 as Lakeshore’s Operations Manager. Eric describes himself as a bit of a dare-devil – with an “ANYTHING is possible” mentality when it comes to engineering and building tradeshow exhibits. He thrives off challenges, welcoming the most complex projects and developing newer team members into experts at their craft. Eric wants Lakeshore’s next exhibit to be bigger and better than the last – and loves seeing his projects looking effortless and amazing on the show floor. Outside of work, Eric is a dedicated father to his 5-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter and occasionally has a bit of spare time to jam on his guitar. Fun fact? Eric used to design and build custom exotic aquariums, some so large he could fit inside. Bottom line: there’s nothing he won’t try!
John Romero
Fabrication Shop Manager
John, Lakeshore’s Shop Foreman, is a passionate and talented carpenter with 37 years of experience building exhibits. He has a deep understanding of tradeshows and believes in their power to impact people and brands. John places a high value on quality workmanship: nothing leaves the shop without being perfect! Outside of work, John enjoys fishing, camping, and reviewing restaurants, as well as spending time with his wife of 30 years and two sons that currently serve in the Army and Navy, respectively.