Over 5,200 attend Plast-Ex 2007

More than 5,200 people from throughout North America attended the Plast-Ex 2007 trade show in Toronto between May 1 and 3, according to figures released by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA).

According to the CPIA, a total of 5,247 people attended the show over the course of the three days, a figure that excludes exhibitor personnel. While the vast majority (4,485) of showgoers hailed from the province of Ontario, figures compiled during the event reveal that attendees came from every region of the country, representing virtually all of the Canadian provinces. Additionally, over 250 Americans attended the show.

The attendance figures from Plast-Ex 2007 compare favourably with those from some other recent industry trade shows. For example, the Plastics Encounter @ Antec 2007 show which ran from May 6 to 10 in Cincinnati, Ohio saw a total of 3,546 people attend, including exhibitor personnel.

Digging a little deeper into some of the attendance figures from Plast-Ex 2007 reveals that machinery and equipment was identified as the primary product of interest by the largest number of showgoers: 1,900. Other popular product categories were resins and compounds, which drew 1,317 showgoers; factory automation and robotics, which drew 1,195 people; and tools, dies and molds, which drew 887 attendees.

The automotive and transportation industry was the most heavily represented industry among those showgoers who identified themselves, drawing 824 attendees. The second most heavily represented industry was machinery (779 showgoers), followed by chemicals and plastics (732 people).

The job function of the largest identifiable number of attendees was a general management position, which over 1,000 attendees identified themselves as holding within their company. The second most popular job was in an engineering or design capacity (821 showgoers), followed by a sales or marketing position (723 showgoers).

Almost half of the attendees who identified their role in the purchasing process said they were responsible for recommending purchases, while approximately one-third identified themselves as being in a position to approve purchases, and slightly more than one-third described themselves as actually making a purchase.

Finally, over two-thirds (1,586) of showgoers who identified themselves indicated that their company used injection molding as the primary manufacturing process. Almost 1,400 attendees identified their company as performing an extrusion process, followed by 507 who identified their company as primarily a blow molder.