ProMat gets started in Chicago

More than 700 exhibitors have set up shop in Chicago's McCormick Place for the 2011 version of ProMat, the largest material handling show in North America. The biennial tradeshow got underway on Monday.

The show's sponsor, the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), expects ProMat to draw thousands of attendees. CEO John Nofsinger says preregistration was running 25 percent ahead of the previous show two years ago. Those attending the show are drawn from a wide swath of the business world. According to MHIA, this year's registrants break down this way:

• 49 percent are corporate or senior management,
• 28 percent are middle management,
• 85 percent have buying power,
• 60 percent buy for distribution centers,
• 48 percent buy for warehouses supporting manufacturing,
• 51 percent buy for a manufacturing facility,
• 30 percent plan on spending more than $1 million over the next 18 months,
• 81 percent are coming to see new products, and
• 54 percent are coming to network and learn.

ProMat opened on March 21 with a keynote address by former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. In addition to exhibits filling most of McCormick's vast South Hall, ProMat features more than 90 educational sessions on the show floor.

ProMat has also become a venue for major business and product announcements from exhibitors. In a series of three daily newsletters, DC Velocity and CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly will offer an overview of some of the major events and announcements from the show.