Moving on out to Modex 2012

Around 2 p.m. today, the curtain will close on ProMat 2011. Show of hands: How many of you actually miss Chicago in January?

By all accounts, this was one of the most successful shows in recent years, especially when compared against 2009. Business was not only mired in a recession, but the temperatures in Chicago hit minus twenty that week. A bad economy made the cold temperatures seem even colder, and the cold temperatures made business seem even gloomier.

“In 2009, companies were not only keeping their purse strings closed tight, we had customers postpone and cancel significant projects,” one consultant told Modern’s Show Daily. “Attendees visiting our booth have been upbeat and they are thinking about projects again.”

Are we out of the woods yet? Probably not. But that sense of optimism was shared by John Nofsinger, CEO of the Material Handling Industry of America, the sponsor of ProMat 2011 and Modex 2012, next year’s materials handling and logistics show, to be held February 6 to 9 in Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. “The energy level is as high as I’ve ever seen it, due in large part to where we are and where we’ve been,” Nofsinger said.

While ProMat focuses on activities inside the four walls of the warehouse, plant and DC – what some are calling intralogistics – Modex will include exhibitors representing solutions in the broader supply chain and logistics outside the four walls. MHIA is anticipated 580 exhibitors at the new show and 165,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Why move outside the four walls? “Increasingly, what happens inside the four walls is impacted by what happens in the broader supply chain,” says Tom Carbott, MHIA’s vice president of sales and events. “The links between the two are getting tighter because we’re now looking for information beyond the four walls. Controlling and monitoring poduct from the point of origin until it reaches the end customer is critical.”

Best of all, February in Atlanta is a pretty nice place to be.

ProMat 2011 will be held March 21 - 24, 2011 at McCormick Place South in Chicago. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the material handling and logistics industry.

Read all of Modern’s ProMat 2011 coverage