The Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) on Wednesday announced the launch of MODEX, a new trade show and conference. The inaugural event will be held Feb. 6 —9, 2012, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

The exposition will have a material handling and logistics profile that is similar to the organization's biennial ProMat show and seminars, said John Nofsinger, MHIA's chief executive officer, in a statement. "However, the MODEX event will additionally incorporate a broader array of technology, services, and educational offerings that serve the overall supply chain—hence the event's tagline, "Solutions That Move Supply Chains." The show's areas of focus will include equipment and systems solutions as well as learning opportunities that cover the entire supply chain, from material handling to logistics and manufacturing, assembly, and distribution, MHIA said.

MHIA, which represents material handling and logistics equipment and systems manufacturers, integrators, consultants, and logistics service providers, expects to draw some 500 exhibitors to the first MODEX show. MHIA will also invite other industry groups with which it partners to co-locate at the event.

The association chose Atlanta for the first MODEX show because of its role as a gateway for American supply chains. More than 40 percent of North American manufacturing and distribution locations are situated within a 500-mile radius of the city, and the region is home to extensive intermodal and logistics hubs, global third-party logistics service companies, and large retail distribution centers, Nofsinger said.

Nofsinger made it clear that MODEX will complement ProMat, which he said "will continue strongly positioned in Chicago." MODEX will replace MHIA's North American Material Handling and Logistics Show, which had been held in the years when no ProMat show was scheduled.