Not that there was much doubt, but if there were any lingering concerns about the level interest in automating logistics operations in distribution and manufacturing, the MODEX 2024 conference put them to rest.

Supply Chain Digest Says... Demand for space by vendors of all types – from fork trucks battery makers to supply chain software providers to automated materials handling company with large displays of material handling equipment – exceeding that previous two-hall capacity. What do you say? Click here to send us your comments Click here to see reader feedback

The bi-annual trade show saw blow out attendance and exhibitor numbers last week in Atlanta, with almost 49,000 registrants – an incredible number. That according to show producer MHI (once known as the Materials Handling Institute of America).

MODEX runs every even numbered year in Atlanta, while the older ProMat show – also from MHI – runs in odd years in Chicago.

This year’s MODEX show registration – which includes exhibitor staff –was up 32% from the most recent show in 2022.

Simply put, for much of the show the aisles were packed.

And that’s saying something, because this year MODEX added a third exhibit hall, up from the two halls that had been the norm since the first MODEX was held in 2012.

And that was driven by demand for space by vendors of all types – from fork trucks battery makers to supply chain software providers to automated materials handling company with large displays of material handling equipment – exceeding that previous two-hall capacity.

In fact, MODEX saw about 1200 exhibitors in this year’s show, up from a little more than 900 in 2022.

Said MHI president John Paxton: “From attendance to exhibition space and educational sessions, MODEX 2024 exceeded all expectations, delivering our largest and most comprehensive supply chain event to date."

He added: “The success of this event is a testament to the industry's ongoing vitality, dedication to innovation, and delivering world-class solutions for supply chain operations. It was a massive win for the entire industry.”

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Also at the show, MHI announced as usual four different awards for product innovation. Those winners were:

• Best Innovation of an Existing Product: ForwardX Robotics

• Best IT Innovation: Configura

• Best New Innovation: Slip Robotics

• Best New Innovation in Sustainability: Avery Dennison

Will next year’s ProMat also see such record numbers? We’ll find out next March in Chicago.

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