Fabtech Turnout Better Than Expected

Despite grim financial news, an unprecedented number of attendees filled the halls on the opening day of the 2008 Fabtech International & AWS Welding Show, introducing Metalform. More than 12,000 manufacturing and welding professionals attended opening day of the show’s debut in Las Vegas, and attendance for the entire three-day event amounted to more than 21,000.

This year marks the first time Fabtech has taken place west of the Mississippi, and it attracted a new audience—56 percent were first-time attendees. International attendees made up 16 percent of the total—an increase of 10 percent compared with the past two years—and 32 percent hailed from the West coast.

“It’s clear that our effort to expand the reach of the show for both attendees and exhibitors was successful,” says John Catalano, show manager from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. “It exceeded the expectations of the partner organizations.”

Future Fabtech dates are November 15 through 18 in Chicago, Illinois, and November 2 through 4 in Atlanta, Georgia. The show was cosponsored by the American Welding Society (AWS), the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Int'l (FMA) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and supported by industry partner the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

For more information about the Fabtech International & AWS Welding Show including Metalform, visit www.fmafabtech.com, www.sme.org/fabtech, www.aws.org/show or www.metalform.com.