NPE2018, hosted by the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), concluded on 11th May 2018, wrapping up five days of commerce on the trade show floor and numerous new and returning educational programs that offered a glimpse into the future of plastics.
With 2,174 exhibiting companies occupying more than 1.2 million net square feet of sold-out exhibit floor space, NPE2018 was the largest in show history and the heaviest show on record, with more than 21.7 million pounds of freight brought into the show.
Attendance rose by 1.7 percent over that of NPE2015 to 56,034 confirmed registered attendees from almost 19,000 unique companies according to show data.
Exhibiting companies came from 35 nations with representatives from those companies hailing from 63 countries outside the United States.
William R. Carteaux, Show Producer, PLASTICS President and CEO,said: “We sold out our exhibit floor nearly 14 months in advance of the show and worked diligently to accommodate the companies who were unable to secure space during our Space Draw.”
Paul Caprio, President of KraussMaffei Group,added: “We had a tremendous amount of booth activity, with a lot of new visitors plus many existing customers who stopped by to see our latest innovations. We also topped our lead count with over 1,200 leads versus about 900 from three years ago."