Pack Expo Las Vegas welcomed more 29,500 attendees to the show.
 

 

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

“The overwhelming success of Pack Expo Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging Expo, coming on the heels of our success at Pack Expo East, ProFood Tech and Expo Pack Guadalajara confirmed our belief that our industry views the Pack Expo brand as must-attend events,” said Jim Pittas, chief operating officer, PMMI. “Our exhibitors and attendees expect Pack Expo to carry out first-class events, and this show was no exception.”

Up nearly 4% in size from the 2015 show, the larger crowds continue to attend to gather valuable insights and discover the latest packaging innovations.

To keep up with the growing size, PMMI continues to offer technologies such as My Show Planner both on-line and via a mobile app, which include enhanced Virtual Exhibitor Booths to ensure attendees and exhibitors come to the show prepared.

“It was great to see the number of people coming to the show with real-world applications, ready to do business,” said 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. The pre-show planning PMMI provides us is beneficial. We take advantage of the on-line booth upgrade and receive nothing but positive feedback from it.”

Pack Gives Back offered another milestone as it produced the largest crowd to date in the event’s seven-year history. The standing room only crowd was entertained by The Doobie Brothers and proceeds from the performance, combined with industry donations and PMMI’s $100,000 match, pushed Pack Expo’s hurricane aid to more than $325,000.

“The generosity of Pack Expo’s attendees and exhibitors was truly inspirational,” said Chuck Yuska at the conclusion of his last Pack Expo after more than a quarter century as president and chief executive officer of PMMI. “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 scholarships at the show. Six students from PMMI partner schools each received $5,000 scholarships.

For the first time in the show’s history it welcomed the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to the NextGEN Networking Fair. The event offered a one-of-a-kind matchmaking opportunity for exhibitors and attendees to connect with the emerging workforce.

Pack Expo also hosted its first Packaging and Processing Woman’s Leadership Network breakfast. More than 500 attendees took advantage of the opportunity to network and hear Caterpillar vice-president Tana Utley’s keynote address titled “Dancing on the Glass Ceiling.”

Pack Expo East, which takes place April 16-18, 2018, in Philadelphia, will provide the industry with another chance to learn about the latest in packaging. Information and registration for the upcoming show can be found here.