Pack Expo Las Vegas sets attendance record

Pack Expo Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging Expo 2017 welcomed nearly 1,000 more attendees than 2015, making it the largest Pack Expo Las Vegas in history. Preliminary numbers reveal 29,500 attendees and 2,000 exhibiting companies convened over almost 900,000 net square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Up nearly 4% in size from Pack Expo Las Vegas 2015, the larger crowds continue to be high-level attendees with decision-making power.

“It was great to see the number of people coming to the show with [real-world] applications, ready to do business,” says Stacy Johnson, director of marketing and strategic planning, Dorner Mfg. Corp. “We get both quality and quantity attendees from Pack Expo Las Vegas, which is ideal. We take advantage of the online booth upgrade and receive nothing but positive feedback from it.”

PACK gives BACK, sponsored by Rockwell Automation, offered another milestone as it produced the largest crowd to date in the event’s seven-year history. Proceeds from the performance—which featured legendary rock and roll band The Doobie Brothers playing to a standing-room-only crowd—combined with industry donations and PMMI’s $100,000 match, pushed Pack Expo’s hurricane aid past $325,000.

“The generosity of Pack Expo attendees and exhibitors was truly inspirational,” says Chuck Yuska, at the conclusion of his last Pack Expo after more than a quarter century as president and CEO of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. “Ours is an industry that has consistently risen to the occasion to help others in times of need.”

In addition to supporting hurricane relief, PMMI recognizes the importance of industry education, giving out $30,000 in Pack Expo Scholarships at the show. Yuska announced the 2017 recipients of PACK EXPO Scholarships with the six students from PMMI Partner Schools each receiving $5,000 scholarships.

For the first time Pack Expo Las Vegas welcomed the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) to the NextGEN Networking Fair, which offered an opportunity for exhibitors and attendees to connect with the emerging workforce.

A first-time addition to the show experience received mainstream media coverage and was the first stop for many at Pack Expo Las Vegas. The “Pack Expo Drone Demo – Packaging for the Last Mile” showcased drone package delivery by Workhorse. Every hour, attendees witnessed drones taking off from the top of electric trucks and making deliveries to mock houses populating the 15,000-square-foot exhibit in the North Hall.

Pack Expo Las Vegas also hosted its first Packaging and Processing Woman’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) breakfast. More than 500 attendees attended to hear Caterpillar vice president Tana Utley’s keynote address titled “Dancing on the Glass Ceiling.”

Next up in the Pack Expo portfolio is Pack Expo East, April 16-18, 2018 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Information and registration for the upcoming show can be found at packexpoeast.com.