Packaging and processing professionals gathered in Chicago Oct. 28-31 for PACK EXPO International 2012, the largest packaging and processing tradeshow in the world this year.

Owned and produced by Reston, Va.-based PMMI, the four-day event featured more than 1.1 million net square feet of floor space in McCormick Place and 1,965 exhibiting companies—an increase of more than 6% for space and 8% for exhibiting companies from PACK EXPO International 2010.

Pre-registration for PACK EXPO was up nearly 10% going into the event, but Hurricane Sandy had some effect on the final attendance numbers. Still, despite the East Coast storm, PACK EXPO welcomed 45,300 attendees to McCormick Place, an increase of 3% over the 2010 show. According to PMMI, some of this increase can be credited to the significant growth in the number of international attendees, which was up just over 8% from 2010.

“While we fully expected to surpass our attendance goals, the storm’s effect on East Coast travel prohibited many from making the show,” says Charles D. Yuska, president and CEO of PACK EXPO. “However, we still finished with the largest PACK EXPO International since 2006.

“The increase in exhibitors speaks to the quality of business done at PACK EXPO. These exhibiting companies invest time and resources, and they have to believe that they are going to get a return on that investment.”

The momentum from the Chicago show continues with exhibitors already planning their presence at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Sept. 23-25, 2013. Approximately 47,000 square feet of booth space was sold during the Chicago show, bringing the current PACK EXPO Las Vegas net square footage to nearly 560,000 nsf, more than 20% ahead of pace from 2011.

“PACK EXPO International 2012 was definitely a success,” says Yuska, “Traffic was strong, despite the storm, and the exhibitors I spoke with were very pleased with the number and quality of leads they received. I think it’s also significant that exhibitors were already planning ahead and reserving booth space for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013.”

Learn more about PMMI and 2013 PACK EXPO tradeshows at PMMI.org and Packexpo.com