The 2016 PACK EXPO International, which was co-located with Pharma Expo November 6-9 at McCormick Place in Chicago, attracted more than 47,000 attendees throughout a record-breaking 1.25 million square feet of exhibit space occupied by 2,512 exhibitors.

“Exhibitors reported that not only were leads up, but the quality of the attendees continues to grow,” says Jim Pittas, senior vice president of PMMI. “A full audit of the event will be forthcoming, but all initial reports from exhibitors and attendees clearly show PACK EXPO International and Pharma EXPO 2016 was an overwhelming success.”

Exhibitors and exhibit space were not the only records broken. In no previous year has PACK EXPO received as many endorsements as this year with its largest ever Partner Program including 31 associations. The education offerings for PACK EXPO were also the largest in the history of the portfolio of trade shows.

One particularly well-received new addition to PACK EXPO International’s long list of convenience-enhancing features was the NextGEN Networking Fair, the event that connected both supplier companies and consumer goods manufacturers with student talent in the Education and Workforce Development Pavilion. Fourteen teams of students from 10 partner schools also participated in the Amazing Packaging Race, sponsored by ASCO. A team made up of undergrads from Indiana State University, Cal Poly, Virginia Tech and Rutgers University took home iPads for finishing first in the seventh annual competition. ASCO also awarded $5,000 academic scholarships to Nathaniel Weger, a junior at the University of Iowa, and Quinnlan Sweeney, a junior at Clemson University.

PACK EXPO International

www.packexpointernational.com