PACK EXPO International Attendance Up 6.5 Percent to 48,600 in Chicago

November 12, 2014

PMMI — The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies – wrapped up its biannual PACK EXPO International last week, along with the newly collocated Pharma EXPO 2014,  and attracted a 6.5 percent increase in attendance, compared with 2012, topping 48,600 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

The four-day event was held Nov. 2-5 and covered more than 1.2 million net square feet of exhibit space, with 2,352 exhibiting companies -  an increase of more than 19 percent, compared with PACK EXPO International 2012.

“PACK EXPO International 2014 was definitely a success,” said Jim Pittas, senior vice president, PMMI, “Exhibitors sold machines right off the show floor and collected high quality leads from the steady flow of attendees.”

PACK EXPO International 2012 ranked no. 4 on the TSNN Top 250 Trade Show list, drawing 1,965 exhibitors to a 1.1 million net sq. ft. showfloor.

Pharma EXPO, which PMMI produced in partnership with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, helped boost attendance, with twice as many attendees identifying their primary or secondary markets as “pharmaceutical.”

Pittas said the successes of Pharma EXPO and PACK EXPO International 2014 “strengthened the groundwork for excellent results for exhibitors” at upcoming PACK EXPO trade shows, including PACK EXPO East in February and Pharma EXPO and PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2015.

PACK EXPO East is a debut show that will run Feb. 16-18 in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

“Exhibitors begin planning their strategy for the next PACK EXPO almost immediately after the close of the previous year’s show, and they need to know they’ll get a strong return on their investment,” Pittas said.

He added, “The success of the inaugural Pharma EXPO proves the strength of the PACK EXPO brand across all vertical markets and reinforces the industry’s view of PACK EXPO as the preeminent North American packaging and processing show.”

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