Record numbers achieved at ProMat 2009

The well-attended biennial event brought a thaw to the brisk Chicago winter and showed that maybe, in some sectors, the frigid economy may be beginning to thaw as well.

By Plant Engineering Staff

Share

With the downturn in the global economy over the last year, good news has been hard to come by. But not all of the news is bad, especially if you’re in the material handling and logistics business, it appears.
ProMat 2009 , held Jan. 12-15 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, churned out the largest results in the event’s history, the Material Handling Industry of America recently reported. And the best part was that attendees weren’t just there to window shop. They were there to buy equipment.
"The feedback from attendees and exhibitors is that ProMat 2009 was a very successful event for them. Attendees were very serious and ready to make capital purchases now to keep their manufacturing and distribution operations competitive.” said John Nofsinger, CEO of MHIA.
Registration for ProMat 2009 totaled 31,800, and the show featured 729 exhibits covering 305,000 net square feet. Attendance represented key decision makers in virtually all manufacturing, logistics, distribution and the supply chain. Reflecting the growing global nature of the event, attendees from outside the United States represented 100 countries and six continents.
According to Nofsinger, "the exhibitors put on a great show, with a highly diverse array of equipment and technology solutions. Overall, the success of this show says a great deal about the overall strength of this industry as material handling and logistics solutions remain key to industrial productivity and profitability."
More than 5,000 attended ProMat’s educational conference, which numbered more than 100 sessions.