Checking Out the Safety+ Expo
Attendees at VPPPA's annual national conference got their first look at the exhibit floor during an Aug. 29 reception inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in downtown New Orleans.
Attendees at VPPPA's 33rd annual national conference, Safety+, got their first look at the exhibit floor during a well-attended Aug. 29 reception inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in downtown New Orleans.
"It was a good night at the reception with several good leads, and attendance looks good," Chris Lange, Industrial Scientific Corporation's marketing director, Americas and EMEA, said via text on Aug. 30.
About 230 exhibitors were registered, according to the online floor plan available on the show's website. Safety signs, protective apparel and fabrics, AEDs, training and education, contractor vetting, lockout/tagout and machine guarding, mats and slip and fall prevention, lifts, hand protection, gas monitoring, lone worker safety products, emergency eyewash and shower equipment, fall protection, confined space safety, incentives, heat illness prevention, and PPE of all kinds -- the show's exhibit floor covers the full spectrum of safety products and services.
Safety+'s schedule is unusual for a large U.S. safety show because the expo hours are broken up into several separate segments, in order not to conflict with attendees' workshops. Larry Garner, chief marketing officer for MCR Safety, said he's interested in seeing how well that format works. The expo hours on Aug. 30 are 9–10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., and 2–3:30 p.m. The Aug. 31 expo hours are 9:30–11 a.m. and 12–1:30 p.m.
As VPPPA explained in the Safety+ show's exhibitor prospectus: "Attendees at VPPPA regional and national conferences consist of the best of the best in occupational safety and health excellence. These leaders know continuous improvement is the only way to stay ahead, and they turn to VPPPA exhibitors for their competitive edge."