Packaging and processing professionals gathered in Chicago last week for PACK EXPO International 2012, the largest packaging and processing trade show in the world this year. The four-day event, Oct. 28–31, covered more than 1.1 million net square feet (nsf) in McCormick Place with 1,965 exhibiting companies — an increase of over 6 percent for space and 7 percent for exhibiting companies from PACK EXPO International 2010.

Pre-registration for PACK EXPO was up significantly (nearly 10 percent) going into the event, however, the East Coast storm did have some effect on the final attendance numbers. Still, in spite of the storm, PACK EXPO welcomed 45,300 attendees to McCormick Place for the four-day event, which is an increase of 3 percent over the 2010 show. Much of this increase can be credited to the significant growth in the number of international attendees, which was up just over 53 percent from 2010.

Charles D. Yuska, president & CEO of PACK EXPO owner and producer PMMI, says, “While we fully expected to surpass our attendance goals, the storm’s effect on East Coast travel prohibited many from making the show. However, we still finished with the largest PACK EXPO International since 2006.”

Yuska adds, “The increase in exhibitors speaks to the quality of business done at PACK EXPO. These exhibiting companies invest time and resources, and they have to believe that they are going to get a return on that investment.” 

The momentum from the Chicago show continues with exhibitors already planning their presence at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Sept. 23-25, 2013. Approximately 47,000 square feet of booth space sold during the show in Chicago last week, bringing the current PACK EXPO Las Vegas net square footage to nearly 560,000 nsf, over 20 percent ahead of pace from 2011. This is an excellent indicator that next year’s PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013 will be the largest yet and that business remains on the upswing.

“PACK EXPO International 2012 was definitely a success,” says Yuska, “Traffic was strong, despite the storm, and the exhibitors I spoke with were very pleased with the number and quality of leads they received. I think it’s also significant that exhibitors were already planning ahead and reserving booth space for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013.”

Source: PMMI