ProMat starts year off right

North America's largest materials handling and logistics trade show boasts record attendance and a diverse mix of products.

By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 2/1/2007

ProMat 2007, held January 8-11 at McCormick Place in Chicago, provided a vivid illustration of the vitality of the materials handling and logistics industry.

The biennial trade show drew more than 35,000 attendees, 140 first-time exhibitors, 736 total exhibitors, 152 members of the press and an enthusiastic contingent of college students and professors.

According to the event's sponsor, the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA, www.mhia.org), attendance reached record highs, with the number of visitors up 3% from ProMat 2005 and the number of exhibitors up 12%.

The remarkable turnout at ProMat corresponds to remarkable growth in the materials handling equipment industry in recent years. As MHIA reported at its annual state-of-the-industry press conference, U.S. shipments of materials handling equipment grew 14.7% in 2006, closing at $25.8 billion.

MHIA predicts this growth will continue—though at a more modest pace—in the year ahead (see www.mmh.com/article/CA6403375.html).

Exhibiting companies at ProMat represented a well-rounded mix of materials handling and logistics products and services, from conveyors and lift trucks to software and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

With the help of the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education ( www.mhia.org/et) university students and professors took advantage of this unprecedented gathering, using McCormick Place as a giant materials handling classroom.

Ohio University graduate student Vinay Patil described the array of products on display as "mind blowing." After interning in a distribution center full of equipment that was decades old, he says, he was anxious to attend ProMat to explore today's more advanced technologies.

"I can show my students pictures, and I can show them videos on the Web, but seeing this equipment in person takes their understanding to a whole new level," says professor Dale Masel, who accompanied Patil and seven other students to Chicago for the show.

Masel says he was encouraged by exhibitors' willingness to speak with students. Students don't represent a sales opportunity, he says, but exhibitors realize that taking time to better educate materials handling students helps ensure the continued vitality of the industry.