CHICAGO — Trade Show Executive’s Young Professionals Corner is checking in with some of its 2025 Fastest 50 Awards & Summit Grand Award winners to get the stories behind their success. MODEX — an event for the manufacturing and supply chain industries that is held biennially at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta —picked up the Fastest-Growing Non-Annual Show by Percentage of Growth in Net Square Feet in 2024 Grand Award this year.
TSE spoke with Daniel McKinnon, Chief Exhibitions Officer at MHI, about MODEX’s launch, growth and future.
ANDREW: Could you walk through the history of this show?
DANIEL: MODEX started in 2012 and was developed through extensive research and the crunching of data and information.
After creating a business plan, Atlanta was clearly the best location — Georgia has one of the largest ports in the world and the entire supply chain’s connection through Atlanta and the southeast, and all of the manufacturing that is located there, made it an easy decision.
In 2012, we had 19,370 attendees and 586 exhibits in 180,000 net square feet. In 2024, we had 48,733 attendees, 1,200 exhibiting companies and 580,000 sold square feet.
MODEX is currently sold-out wall to wall for 2026 and we’re looking forward to an incredible future.
ANDREW: How has being sold-out for 2026 changed your planning strategy?
DANIEL: People say, “Oh, that’s a good problem to have,” but no problem is a good problem.
It is an issue because we want to make sure that we’re able to accommodate all of the members that want to participate in this world-leading event. They deserve it and they’ve earned it.
We’re looking at other areas within the GWCC where we might have some ancillary lines of business, and we’re trying to squeeze into some ballrooms and hallways.
We are developing other ways to create value and work with our membership to develop opportunities for companies beyond the show floor.
ANDREW: MODEX won big at this year’s TSE Fastest 50 Awards & Summit. What do you think has driven its recent success?
DANIEL: The number one factor is the incredible team that I have the honor to work with. They are superior in professionalism, customer service, capabilities and competencies.
Number two, we have the support of a committed membership. Our exhibitors are our members and the membership is very active — MHI is a thriving association.
Also, we have fantastic partners that help us produce these quality events.
The last — and maybe the most important — reason is that the logistics and supply chain industries are booming right now.
ANDREW: What goes into choosing the right partner?
DANIEL: I’ve been doing trade shows for more than 34 years and this is an easy question to answer because it’s really about relationships.
All of the major partners are great at what they do and it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Relationships are key in this industry without a doubt.
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ANDREW: What did you learn from MODEX 2024?
DANIEL: Every year, our association hosts an industry night that is meant to be a fun event. We are learning more and more that what I consider fun may not be what somebody that is 25 considers fun, so we put ourselves in the shoes of our audience.
We’re trying to address our positively changing demographics in many ways to create value for them. MHI invests a lot of money and time to research and develop solutions based on feedback from our entire community and we’re making event changes accordingly.
We also found out that people really like the show floor education and networking opportunities and we’re continuing to improve our educational and experiential activations. We’re human beings, so we want to enjoy ourselves.
Planning is key, but so is serendipity. What are you going to run into? What are you going to experience?
In every show, we learn from our team, but we also learn from our audience through intensive research.
ANDREW: What challenges has the show run into, and how have they been circumvented and/or avoided?
DANIEL: It is free to attend our show and a certain level of suitcasing [attending a trade show to solicit sales] does occur. We don’t encourage this, but it is part of running a successful event like MODEX.
However, more and more of our exhibitors are coming to us and saying, “Look, we’re here to sell our products. We don’t want to be sold to.
This is a difficult challenge, and I’ve tried to address it my whole career. At registration, we require all attendees to acknowledge a code of conduct — they’re there to learn, network and engage with the exhibitors, not to sell their own products and services. We prevent them from ever returning to our show again if that happens.
The world is filled with scoundrels, rascals and bad actors. We are trying to warn not just exhibitors, but our attendees and our entire community, about fraudulent companies and organizations that try to attach themselves to MHI and our events.
ANDREW: What can young professionals learn from your show?
DANIEL: Create cool activations that engage your audience … Whether you think it’s corny or not, you need to do it because people are people and they want an experience.
If you’re going to create a destination and a path for your entire community to engage, succeed, network and educate, you need to provide them with an environment that they feel comfortable and safe in, and curious about.
Don’t just lay the carpet and set up the pipe and drape. Make it fantastic, memorable, and fun.
ANDREW: What other advice would you give to young events professionals?
DANIEL: I’ve always been close with the International Association of Exhibitions & Events® (IAEE). All young professionals should get involved. IAEE®, the Society of Independent Show Organizers and other relevant associations can help them with their careers, interests, desires and needs.
Also, remember that this is a job, and you need to be serious. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Be responsible and understand that your actions don’t only impact yourself but impact your colleagues.
Lastly, always know your priorities. Put your family and friends first.
ANDREW: How do you think the events industry is changing?
DANIEL: It’s changing for the positive: It’s more diverse and it’s more well-known.
It has been proven without any doubt that face-to-face interactions are the most valuable and trusted way to sell your products and services. That will never change.
ANDREW: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
DANIEL: I’m super proud of the people that I work with and we’re excited about the future. We don’t see any slowdown ahead. We’re proud of the work that we’ve done and the work that we will do in the future.
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