CHICAGO — ProMat, produced by MHI, will return to McCormick Place for the first time since 2019 on March 20-23, 2023.
The 2023 edition of ProMat has already surpassed 2019 numbers in terms of net square footage, number of exhibitors and attendance. This year’s show will span 562,000 square feet and feature 1,054 exhibitors, compared to the 420,000-square-foot 2019 edition featuring 950 exhibitors. Registration attendance is 12% above ProMat 2019.
“We are utilizing an integrated attendee acquisition effort with traditional marketing as well an increased emphasis on digital marketing outreach,” MHI Chief Marketing Officer Carol Miller said. “We have increased our digital marketing emphasis while keeping an integrated approach. We are also utilizing influencer marketing and looking at digital advertising and new, traditional business media such as the WSJ and Bloomberg to extend our reach into these audiences.”
New to this year’s show is the StartUp Pavilion and the Robotics & Automation and Emerging Technologies Theatres. The pavilion is a specialized area of the show floor where companies, including CompScience, GPX and KamerAI, will showcase their new supply chain technologies and innovations.
MHI, which organizes Fastest 50 Class of 2022 honoree MODEX, is providing ProMat attendees with more networking opportunities than before. The show will feature interactive programs at HUB networking lounges, which will offer photography for social media and headshots for professionals. The team has also organized specific networking experiences for young professionals and women, including two women-focused events during the show.
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“In addition to the HUB areas, we are providing networking opportunities for young professionals, women in supply chain and an Industry Night networking event with comedian Nate Bargatze that is giving back the proceeds from ticket sales both to our educational foundation and to World Central Kitchen,” MHI Executive Vice President of Exhibitions Daniel McKinnon said.
This year’s ProMat also has sustainability efforts in place to raise awareness of the supply chain industry’s environmental compliance obligations and efforts to address key areas related to responsible sourcing, energy management, greenhouse gas emissions and zero waste.
“MHI is committed to creating more sustainable events working with our members, exhibitors, vendors and partners. In conjunction with McCormick Place and GES, we are reducing energy use throughout the facility with the implementation of energy-saving practices, renewable energy sources, waste diversion/recycling and water management,” McKinnon said.
“This is the first in-person ProMat event since 2019–so the first event since the pandemic,” McKinnon said. “We are excited to bring back this dynamic supply chain event back to in-person after four years.”
Reach Daniel McKinnon at DMcKinnon@mhi.org; Carol Miller at (704) 676-1190 or CMiller@mhi.org
