Pittcon 2012
“A most valuable resource”
More than 15,000 people involved in various aspects of analytical chemistry converged on Orlando, March 11-15, for the Pittcon 2012 annual conference and exposition.
The exposition included almost 1000 exhibiting companies occupying just under 2000 booths and showcasing their latest laboratory instrumentation, equipment and services across a broad range of applications and technologies. Of those exhibitors, 191 (20 percent) were exhibiting from 28 countries outside the US, continuing the international flair that the event has developed through the years. Around 29 percent of the conferees were also from outside of the US, with 89 global countries represented.
The comprehensive Technical Program included more than 2,000 individual presentations distributed among Invited Symposia, Organized Contributed Sessions, Achievement Awards, Workshops, and Poster presentations. More than 100 invited speakers addressed topics of global interest, including alternative and sustainable energy, homeland security, food and drug safety, environmental issues, new materials development, and bioanalytical techniques. Also available were 95 short courses, while the Employment Bureau noted that over 450 interviews were arranged during the conference as well.
Pittcon 2012 president Jon Peace commented on the event’s strong participation, “In a time where economic changes, increased mergers and acquisitions, and rising travel costs have a substantial impact on conferences, attendees still consider Pittcon to be a most valuable educational and networking resource for the global scientific community.”
Rich in prospects
One of the greatest advantages to a lab professional looking for newer, better, faster, and higher sensitivity instruments that will help accelerate throughput in their lab, is the availability of knowledgeable and experienced professional to answer questions, make suggestions and discuss the possibilities in person at their booth or after a presentation.
It is a huge investment in time and talent that the exhibitors make and resulted in Pittcon 2012 being the place to learn and make both important connections and decisions.
Not only was the number of attendees and exhibitors big by today’s standards, but perhaps more importantly the ratio of attendees (potential customers) to exhibitor personnel was 1.4:1. This effectively meant that the aisles were rich in prospects, not just window shoppers. With all the consolidation in the analytical space, it’s worth pointing out that the reduction in exhibiting companies is more a reflection of that consolidation than of companies dropping out of the show. In fact, a post-event Pittcon statement explained that the conference and exhibition attracted 119 first-time exhibitors. Pittcon is clearly in healthy shape.
Next year…
If you haven’t been to Pittcon in a while, consider next year’s Pittcon 2013 (to be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA from March 17 - 21)as the place to be if your responsibility is in the lab.
For more information, visit: www.pittcon.org
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