The National Ground Water Association’s (NGWA) 2008 Ground Water Expo and Annual Meeting in Las Vegas recorded the third-highest number of registered contractors and the second-highest number of suppliers in the event’s 59-year history.
Final registration numbers this year were 2,693 for contractors and 767 for suppliers. Also, the scientist and engineer registration of 453 is 62% higher than its recorded average registration. There were 1,333 registered manufacturers not including all exhibit personnel.
The total attendance of 5,425 also ranked among the largest ever. Only seven times has total attendance exceeded 5,000—five of those times since 2000.
NGWA Executive Director Kevin McCray said the record 77,000 sq ft of show floor space and 311 exhibitors were a big draw, as were the 70 hours of continuing education offerings and new outdoor demonstrations of push technology, water sampling, geophysics and grouting.
Such strong attendance in the face of a down economy provides compelling evidence that the Expo and annual meeting are an important part of doing business for many in the groundwater industry.
“Industry professionals come because the Expo and annual meeting are of great value to them. It’s about becoming better professionals and better business people,” McCray said. “Not only that, it’s the biggest and best show floor in the business, and a lot of business is transacted.”
McCray said NGWA and its members already are gearing up for the 2009 NGWA Ground Water Expo and Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
“The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau is going out of its way to make 2009 a fantastic year for us. The quality and content of our Expo and annual meeting will be as great as ever, and there’s nothing to compare to the food, entertainment and culture of New Orleans,” McCray said.
Source: NGWA
