Superb Platform Established for Future Success - Ceramics Expo

The third Ceramics Expo closed its doors on April 27, 2017 following another year of attendee growth and a great wave of optimism for the future.

More than 300 exhibitors set out their stalls in Cleveland’s impressive I-X Center, and they didn’t have to wait long for an excited response from thousands of visitors. “I’m really impressed with the amount of traffic we’ve had this year,” said Wendy Evans of Morgan Advanced Materials. “It’s definitely increased from the previous two years and the footprint has expanded, which is really exciting.”

This year’s expo offered more booths, a broader selection of technologies, a record number of live demos, and more countries represented than ever before, bringing an altogether wider perspective and a real panorama of innovation.

Exhibition - CEXLittle wonder, then, that Ceramics Expo 2017 attracted numerous C-suite executives drawn from right across the manufacturing, engineering design, supply, and R&D spectra, providing them all with not only presentations of immediate interest, but something longer-lasting from which to truly benefit. “It’s been a fantastic experience – a great show. I’ve learnt a lot and I’m looking to go home and implement some things I’ve seen,” said Julien Mourou, a lead engineer for advanced vehicle development at General Motors.

Indeed, the auto industry featured strongly in the visitor cohort, with representatives from giants General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Delphi, Federal-Mogul, Nissan, Fiat Chrysler, and others in attendance. There was also a visible presence of prominent figures from the aerospace, defense, and advanced materials  – notable attending companies included Rolls-Royce, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, GE, 3M, Raytheon, Dow Chemical, BASF, Northrop Grumman, and Oerlikon Metco.

The expo’s rising stock in today’s industrial community meant it created the perfect ambience and delivered the right people – the show saw 17.22% of attendees at C-level; 31.61% from engineers in design, electrical, materials, mechanical, and processing roles; and 15.61% from research and development. “The show has been really good… lots of traffic and lots of interest. We’ve met project managers, senior project engineers, CEOs, and sales engineers…it’s been great,” said James Houseman, CEO at Harrop Industries.

Proof that Ceramics Expo’s reputation and resonance is continually spreading came in the form of manufacturing and processing involvement of a global nature. “The content was even better than last year. We got visitors and inquiries from many different industries, including mining where they are looking to use ceramics in certain processes,” explained exhibitor Phil Green, sales director at IPS Ceramics. “We received inquiries not only from North American companies, but also from [companies from] Chile, Japan, and Brazil.”

The role that ceramics play in the advanced industrial arena is bolstered by materials development and phenomenal component accuracy – so, by extension, this show reflects the importance of preparation, analysis, testing, and machining. This year, there were more live demonstrations and the investment in them paid dividends. “It’s going well; being really close to all the action has been essential for our business. It’s been back-to-back with demos and it’s been very successful,” said Jamil Clarke from Hitachi High Technologies. Ron Colavecchia, OptiPro’s director of optics technology agreed, saying, “We actually brought equipment to do demonstrations and it’s proven to be a benefit so far.”

Conference - Ceramics ExpoOnce again, Conference @ Ceramics Expo took place alongside the exhibition. The forum is firmly established and internationally renowned as the leading free-to-attend conference in this field, and with a top line-up of more than 45 high-calibre speakers, this year’s conference lived up to expectations. “I went to a couple of the talks, which were very informative and [explored] where the industry is going and the new advancements that they are making,” said first-time visitor Michael DeMarco from BassTech International. The speakers involved in the three-day, twin-track conference covered the pressing issues of the day and brought decades of experience to the podium. Organizations represented included key players such as Saint-Gobain, Morgan Advanced Materials, Corning, Mo-Sci, Thermal Technology, Ford Motor Company, Pratt & Whitney, NASA, US Steel, CeramTec, GE, Intel, and Siemens, all of whom shared value insights and information. “I’m liking the talks, [they are] pretty informative,” commented one delegate.

Taken together, the 2017 expo and conference brought the ceramic, glass, and allied industries together in a well-coordinated knowledge-sharing environment, underpinned by firm commercial opportunities and sales. “We're on track for meeting or exceeding the number of leads we had last year,” said a Resodyn representative.

You’ll be able to see from the rest of this report details of the efforts made and the considerable resources dedicated to ensuring a successful event each year – an achievement underscored by the high number of rebookings made. “Once again a good show, which led to us talking to new customers and meeting existing ones for new opportunities. We’ve already booked up for next year. Our thanks go out to Smarter Shows and ACerS for great expo and meetings organization,” said Rodrigo González, Nutec Bickley’s vice president for Ceramics.

See you next year — May 1-3, 2017


To find out more information about exhibiting, sponsoring or exhibiting visit the Ceramics Expo website.