Promat 2013 in the Eyes of First Time Attendee Jason Kasanezky

Name of Show: ProMat® 2013

Show Sponsor: MHI
Show Dates: 21. – 24. January 2013
Show Location: McCormick Place South, Chicago, IL, USA

About the Event

ProMat 2013 is the premier showcase of material handling, supply chain, and logistics solutions in North America. The show is designed to offer productivity solutions and information by showcasing the products and services of over 700 leading material handling and logistics providers.  

Last week we flew into the Chicago Midway Airport at about 7 am on Tuesday the 22nd which was the second day of the MHI 2013 Promat Show. After getting all checked into the hotel and enjoying a nice breakfast with the team we headed over to the convention. 

 As we entered McCormick Place the buzz of the Promat Show finally hit me. People were scrambling to log in and get their show badges, which got me even more excited to see what this “Promat Show” was all about. It didn’t take me long to see why the 30,000+ attendees were so excited. The convention was filled with huge exhibits from the top material handling companies in the industry and these exhibits were not just a bunch of posters, these bad boys had working automation systems, robots, actual forklift demos loading pallets onto pallet rack, conveyor systems flying actual products down the line and much more. (Check out the Frazier Exhibit with their Pallet Mole in action in the video below) As I followed our warehouse designers around we met with the different rack manufacturers and I realized how fortunate I was to be learning first hand about all of the new products in the industry. Industry veterans like Scott Dachel, Bill Link, and Bill Wilcox all took the time to pour into Jake Koski and me, teaching us a little more about their systems and product offerings. We ended the day at McCormick Place with the MHEDA networking party which was a great experience for us young guys as we got to meet the Mheda team and also many other key members of the MHEDA association. After a long night on the town visiting all the different catered events, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep and a chance to rest our feet. (On a side note they are not kidding when they tell you to wear a good comfortable pair of shoes) After waking up early for another team breakfast we headed back to the show for Day 2. Jake and I took the day to walk the full show and check out all of the booths. It took us about 4 hours to walk the show from front to back which I have just learned was an estimated 4.5 miles but it was well worth it. After another long intense day at the show, we headed back to the Midway Airport to catch our flight back to Minneapolis but not before grabbing ourselves a pound burger and fries at the Illinois Bar and Grill. 

In summary Promat 2013 was a great learning experience for me and I would highly recommend it to all who are looking to gain more knowledge about the material handling industry. 

Check out all of our photos from Promat 2013 on our Facebook page.