LAS VEGAS— Trade shows are back and attracting crowds of visitors and exhibitors. For over a year, industry professionals have been talking about the light at the end of the tunnel. That light is now here and shining brightly.
The Utility Expo, held September 28-30 in Louisville, Kentucky, was the largest in the show’s history, with more than 900 exhibitors spread across 32 acres at the Kentucky Exhibition Center.
“Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding in-person events, we were thrilled to be able to produce The Utility Expo and bring a diverse lineup of thousands of products to more than 16,500 attendees,” said John Rozum, The Utility Expo Show Director.
According to Jim Pittas, president and CEO of PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, its September show was the largest gathering in its history. The packaging and processing community came together for PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO. More than 23,000 attendees interacted with more than 1,500 exhibitors in four halls and more than 740,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“In a word, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO were a success,” said Pittas. “Exhibitors and attendees were excited by the turnout and, more importantly, the business that was conducted right from the moment the doors opened.”
From October 19-22, MJBizCon returned to Las Vegas for its first in-person conference in two years. The world’s largest cannabis industry trade show, MJBizCon attracted 26,998 attendees and 1,246 exhibitors. Approximately 249,300 net square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center were used for the show.
“It was a surreal feeling after everything we’ve been through over the last two years, from revenue disappearing overnight to implementing a virtual event strategy to dealing with a tremendous amount of emotional and personal stress. I kept asking myself, ‘Did we really survive this? And are we really back to big in-person events? When is the other shoe going to drop?’” said Chris Walsh, CEO of MJBiz. “What’s amazing is how quickly our team found their groove. It was almost like we didn’t miss a beat. In fact, I think it was one of the smoothest events we’ve ever done. I would almost compare it to a professional athlete who has missed a season or two due to injury. When they come back, they can still run, throw, kick, whatever it is.” Every single member of our team was 100% focused on making this event a success and wanting to do what they do. They used their skills and pulled together, and the result was fantastic.”
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In order to keep track of all of Freeman’s activities, the company has added a new event tracker on its homepage. From July 2021 to September 2021, Freeman hosted 722 events in 88 cities with 47,700 activated exhibits. The tracker can be accessed by clicking here.
Contact John Rozum at jrozum@AEM.org; Jim Pittas at jpittas@pmmi.org; Chris Walsh at chris.walsh@mjbiz.com