ProMat 2019: Nearly 50,000 manufacturing and supply chain executives set new record

Manufacturing and supply chain professionals gathered in record numbers in Chicago for ProMat 2019, the largest material handling and supply chain trade expo in North and South America.

ProMat 2019 was the largest in the 34-year history of the event, with registrations of 49,718 —an 11% attendance jump over 2017. The four-day expo, April 8-11, covered 425,000 net square feet of exhibit space on two show floors at Chicago’s McCormick Place with 938 exhibiting companies. The ProMat expo was once again collocated with Automate 2019.

ProMat visitors included key decision-makers in virtually all manufacturing and supply chain industries including a majority of the Fortune 1000 and Top 100 Retailers. The quality of the visitors was very strong with a large number of buying teams from key firms in attendance.

“The continued success of ProMat is proof of not only the strength of our industry but of MHI’s commitment to offering a best-in-class supply chain event experience,” says George Prest CEO of MHI. “MHI is dedicated to creating the best environment for exhibitors to showcase their cutting-edge solutions and to maximizing ProMat’s overall Wow-factor by constantly improving the show’s educational and networking opportunities.”

“Investment in supply chain innovation is at a critical inflection point, with a trend of declining investment from 2015 to 2018 being more than countered by a 95% increase in projected spending for 2019. As a result, the energy level among visitors and exhibitors was at an all-time high as more attendees were actively seeking best-in-class solutions for their manufacturing and supply chain operations.”

According to registration data, 82 percent of attendees had buying authority and 34 percent plan on spending $1 million or more over the next 18 months on equipment and systems.

Reflecting the growing global nature of the event, attendees from outside the United States at this year’s ProMat represented 145 countries and six continents. They were welcomed by ProMat’s International Visitors Center.

Along with the healthy traffic on the show floor, other highlights of ProMat 2019 included the educational conference that accompanied the ProMat exhibition. This included keynotes on blockchain in supply chains, closing the supply chain gender gap and “The Profit” Marcus Lemonis. The conference also included a keynote panel discussing the findings of the 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report - “Elevating Supply Chain Digital Consciousness.”

The conference included over 140 show floor educational seminars on a variety of topics and the event featured solution centers with exhibits and education on robotics, supply chain sustainability and emerging technologies. Webinars of ProMat 2019 educational seminars are available at ProMatShow.com/seminars.

MHI Industry Night on Wednesday, April 10 featured comedian Craig Ferguson. The door prize for this event was a $30,000 trip of a lifetime was awarded to Elizabeth Buza of The Raymond Corporation. During Industry Night, MHI also announced the 2019 MHI Innovation Award winners.

Best Innovation of an Existing Product Winner
RightPick: The Piece Picking Solution by RightHand Robotics Inc.

Best IT Innovation Winner
redPILOT by KNAPP Inc.

Best New Innovation Winner
Pick2Pack by CMC srl

The winners of the 2019 MHI Young Professional Network (YPN) awards were also announced at this event.

2019 YPN Mentor Award Winner
Rosalee Brown of Rasco Industries

2019 YPN Outstanding Young Professional Award Winner
Ben Moyer of Hytrol Conveyor Company

ProMat 2019 Student Days introduced students and educators to career opportunities in material handling, supply chain and logistics through hands-on learning and networking with industry professionals. This year’s Classroom Day combined an interactive educational session with a dynamic guided tour of the ProMat show floor and off-site facility tours. Nearly 250 students and faculty from 45 schools participated in Student Days.

ProMat 2021 will be held at McCormick Place from April 12-15, 2021 and will feature a new Robotics & Automation Solution Center.

The next MHI-sponsored trade event will be MODEX 2020, March 9-12, 2020 in Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. For more information on exhibiting at MODEX 2020, or to register as an attendee, visit MODEXShow.com.