TPT January 2009

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J anuary 2009 18
Industry News
›
Fabtech 2008 and the AWS Welding
Show was a great hit at its first showing
in Las Vegas, USA. The event welcomed
over 12,000 manufacturing and welding
professionals on the opening day, with more
than 21,000 during the entire three-day
event. The show was also the first Fabtech
and AWS Welding event to introduce
Metalform, a new exhibition for the metal
forming market.
The exhibition was the first show designed
for the USA’s west coast and attracted a
new audience accordingly, with around 56
per cent being first-time attendees. Thirty-
two per cent were from the west coast, and
16 per cent were international attendees –
up from 10 per cent compared to the past
two years.
“It’s clear that our effort to expand the
reach of the show for both
attendees and exhibitors
was successful. We’ve
committed to return
in 2012,” said Mr
John Catalano, show
manager from the
Society of Manufacturing
Engineers.
The response from
exhibitors at the show
indicates attendees were
ready to buy. “It was a big
show for us. We had the
largest number of leads
from any trade show
we’ve been in going back to 2000,” said
Mr Al Julian, vice president (marketing) of
Megafab.
Mr Wes Morgan, global communications
director of Thermadyne Industries, said “The
Las Vegas location worked out well for us.
The quality of meetings with our distributor
customers made the trip worthwhile….
We’ve already started our planning for
Chicago in 2009.”
First time exhibitor Mr Alex Laymon,
president of DPSS Lasers Inc was
impressed with the serious buyers he
met. “These were people who were
well prepared, and came to the show
looking for specific solutions to specific
problems.”
The 2009 show will take place from 15-18
November at McCormick Place in Chicago,
while Fabtech 2010 will be held in Atlanta
from 2-4 November.
Fabricators & Manufacturers
Association International (FMA) – USA
Fax: +1 815 484 7701
Email:
Website:
Fabtech 2008 hits the jackpot in Las Vegas
 Fabtech 2008 has left the building