READY TO GO

Have you ever watched an ant colony work?  That’s what today was like on the FABTECH show floor.  A buzz of forklifts, crates, carpet being laid, signs begin hung. A mass of people working feverishly to bring 350,000 sq. ft of exhibit space to life.  Arriving early in the morning, you can see the show floor slowing taking life.  There are some massive booths at this show.  Trumpf and Mazak, for example, have constructed what I’d term “small” cities.  Set up for these exhibitors began a week ago!  Most of my day was spent in Hall B, setting up CCAI’s booth and chatting with our Finishing exhibitors setting up as well.  Hall B houses the finishing, forming, fabrication and pipe and tube sections.  To see the welding and thermal spray areas, you have to head to Hall C.  I didn’t get there today but I will before the show is over.  Lots of great things to see over there as well.

Service from Freeman, the decorator, has been fantastic.  Anything that was needed was attended to promptly.  Slowly but surely, the Finishing Pavilion is coming to life.  Machinery starts to run, final touches are being put on booths, aisle carpet is being laid. 

It’s hard to imagine all that goes into setting up a show of this size.  I was curious so I asked a few questions:

How many pounds of freight has been shipped in by exhibitors for the show floor?  A staggering 7 million pounds of freight!!!!

How many laborers does it take to set up the show and tear it down?  Approximately 2,000 and that doesn’t include exhibitors who do a lot of the work themselves.  These are folks that lay power, gas & air lines; hang signs, move freight, lay carpet, vacuum, deliver plants, etc. 

When you stop to think about it, it is hard to imagine that such a big show can come together in just a week.

But here we are! On the eve of the show opening.  We are very excited to be a part of FABTECH and very anxious to see what tomorrow brings.  Stay tuned!

TODAY'S PHOTOS

CCAI'S BOOTH NEARLY SET UP

IT'S A LONG WAY ACROSS HALL B....AND THIS IS ONLY ABOUT 2/3RDS OF IT!

MIKE GALLAGHER OF THERMA-TRON-X HAS EVERYTHING READY TO GO

THE SHOW FLOOR COMES TOGETHER

FABTECH SET UP UNDERWAY

Sunday, October 31, 2010

With months of planning behind us, CCAI’s FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES Pavilion & Conference debut at FABTECH is just a day away.  For those who weren’t able to make the trip to the show, I’d like to share some thoughts, happenings and excitement from FABTECH this week in Atlanta, GA. 

When the CCAI board made a decision just about a year ago to become a partner with FABTECH, they did so because they believed that becoming a part of an event that focuses on the complete manufacturing process would be beneficial to all of our members.  Many of our members who are responsible for finishing operations in their manufacturing facility now have responsibilities beyond finishing alone.  Many also are involved in with or are responsible for fabricating, forming and/or welding.  Providing them with the opportunity to attend one event where they can take in all manufacturing processes made a lot of sense.

After months of planning, set up at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta, GA has been underway for the past week.  With more than 1,100 exhibiting company, some with fully operational  stamping, laser cutting and punch presses to name a few, FABTECH set up takes several days. 

I arrived on Saturday about noon.  Getting into downtown from the airport is extremely easy using MARTA, the rapid transit system.  It’s very inexpensive, too (just $2 per ride).  With the MARTA station essentially part of the baggage claim area, the trip to downtown Atlanta took about 15 minutes.  Upon arriving at the Georgia World Congress Center you are immediately reminded:  This is a BIG show.  Filling two of the Center’s three exhibit halls, booths fill more than 350,000 net square feet of exhibit space.  That’s more than five times as big as the biggest finishing-only show our industry has ever seen (that show was in Dallas in 1999). 

With pre-registration just shy of 25,000 people, this is by far the largest trade show and conference that our industry has been involved with. 

Periodically this week, I’ll share what’s happening each day in Atlanta, talk about some new products being launched, provide reports from our members, and get feedback on the conference sessions.  I’ll share some photos with you, too.  Here are the first photos I took upon my arrival at the show. 

ENTRANCE WAY

CCAI BOOTH GOING UP

CCAI FINISHING BOOTH PANEL

INTELLIFINISHING - BOOTH OPERATIONAL

FINISHING PAVILION WELCOME SIGN

Become a "Follower" of the blog and stop by to visit throughout the week.  I’ll do my best to give you the highlights and get you excited to join us next year when FABTECH moves to Chicago!