AutomationWest was a successful regional show, says ISA President Lowell McCaw. According to Alan Wegener, director, Conferences, Exhibits & Corporate Services at ISA, the final tally for the event was 1,263 attendees, and 336 exhibitors staffing 85 booths. After several years of concentrating on the One Big Show concept, ISA is turning to a series of smaller regional shows to complement the annual event. Looking forward, these shows might eventually replace the One Big Show. The entire tradeshow concept is in serious trouble, and the fact that so much of ISA's revenue comes from its show has worried ISA leadership for some years now. The jury is still out, however, on the long-term success of these regional shows. This is the sort of show I'd pay a section $250 to exhibit at, not $2000, said John Butterfield, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sparling Instruments, Inc. About half the exhibitors CONTROL spoke with felt they had gotten their money's worth, while the balance felt the exhibit was slow. Conference attendees, however, felt that the papers and tutorial sessions were excellent and well worth coming to Long Beach
