ISA has 'right-sized' the exhibition in terms of physical space - meaning that the hall fit the number of exhibitors, thus making it appear fuller in size. The total attendance remained abut the same as previous years - around 12,000, of which about 70% were non-exhibitors, a good ratio.

The split between end-users and vendors remained uncertain, though it was clear that most end-users were relatively local, making it more of a Regional Exhibition. Interestingly, there were the usual good number of international attendees for whom the ISA Show is an annual pilgrimage.

Many companies that had large booths last year, clearly anticipated a smaller crowd by taking smaller booths. This year there were just over 500 exhibitors, about the same as previous. Of the majors, ABB, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens and Yokogawa had booths, though Emerson and Rockwell were conspicuously absent.

ISA bravely tried several new things this year to attract more people. Alcohol was allowed on the show floor for the first time in history. The party in the EXPO hall that evening probably helped, though it didn't really attract more attendees - it just kept them later, which was good for the sales guys.

Topical theatres (X-PODS) were strategically added to bring technical knowledge content to exhibition floor. There were food & beverage stations for the evening. The international student games competitions and award ceremonies on the floor were well attended. This innovation generated more traffic on the exhibition floor much of the time.

The first-day hours were changed - starting at 1:00 PM and going on till 8:00 PM. Wireless remained the strong draw. The politics of the rival standards (WirelessHART Vs. ISA- 100) and "open letters" buzzed throughout the show floor. Standards related meetings just continued to frustrate those involved, and many were heard to intone the rhymes of the "Wireless Quadrille":

"Will you walk a little faster!" cried Honeywell to the ISA snail
"There's an Emerson right behind me and he's treading on my tail!

The ISA team is working to change the value proposition. In this age of life-long learning, future ISA shows will provide more technical content and knowledge-transfer opportunities. There will be multiple opportunities to gather knowledge quickly and effectively, to maintain the learning process, and to help make new industry contacts. The objective is to convince companies that think that they can't afford to send employees to ISA for a day, that they cannot afford NOT to.

The renewed dynamism, under the leadership of Executive Director Pat Gouhin and a strongly motivated executive board, is clearly getting results. The annual ISA Expo is the only real exhibition of its kind in North America. All the major suppliers, even if they made a token presence, could make ISA EXPO fly, because it's the best thing going.

Here's the conundrum: If more people came, more people would come.

ISA Global Strategy Moves Forward

The Decline of Large Automation Exhibitions

Poem - The Industrial Wireless Quadrille

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