More than 12,000 manufacturing and welding professionals attended the opening day of this first-ever show in Las Vegas, with more than 21,000 for the entire three-day event. They saw the latest in manufacturing equipment from nearly 1,000 exhibitors. The event covered some 400,000 square feet of exhibit space, an increase of 28% from the comparable 2006 show in Atlanta.
This was the first Fabtech International & AWS Welding Show west of the Mississippi. It attracted a new audience — 56% were first-time attendees. Thirty-two percent were from the West Coast, and 16% were international attendees - up from 10% the past two years.
Future show dates and locations include November 15 - 18, 2009, in Chicago and November 2 - 4, 2010, in Atlanta.
Here is a sample of what was on display: