Pittcon Sees Attendance Uptick at Atlanta Show

After a 13-year absence, Pittcon was held March 13-18 in Atlanta and scored an uptick in attendance from 16,836 last year to 17,199 attendees at this year’s show.

“Atlanta’s bioscience industry has rapidly expanded since the last time we hosted Pittcon,” said William Pate, president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

He added, “Eighty-five percent of the state’s bioscience businesses are now based in Atlanta, and more than 300 bioscience companies have operations in the metro area.”

Pittcon organizers worked with the ACVB to engage local bioscience corporations and nonprofit organizations, such as the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education to build attendance by targeting scientists, laboratory science students and research scholars. 

The show also had significant international attendance, with 25 percent traveling to Atlanta from 87 countries outside of the United States.

“In a time when many other shows are experiencing a decline in attendance, Pittcon’s attendance is strong and steady,” said Pittcon 2011 President Penny Gardner.

She added, “The best part of our experience in Atlanta was the cooperation between our organization and the ACVB and Georgia World Congress Center staff.”

Last year’s Pittcon show was held at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center and ranked No. 85 on the 2010 TSNN Top 250 Trade Shows, with 1,085 exhibitors and 254,198 net square feet.

Pittcon is organized by The Pittsburgh Conference and will be held again in 2016 in Atlanta.

Co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, Pittcon is the premier annual conference and exposition on laboratory science, according to show officials.

Proceeds from Pittcon fund science education and outreach at all levels, kindergarten through adult.

Pittcon donates more than a million dollars each year in the form of science equipment grants, research grants, scholarships and internships for students, awards to teachers and professors, and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums.