Click here to enlarge imageRecession? What recession? That’s the question that popped into my mind as I walked the halls of the 33rd International Dental Show in Cologne back in March. A bigger-than-ever crowd at the world’s biggest dental show and exhibitors smiling from ear to ear let me know that this was not the doom and gloom I had heard about for many months.
Like many of you, I knew that the Chicago Midwinter and the IDS meetings would be great barometers for the overall health of our industry. If there was ever a time that dental would show it had a cold or a fever, it would be the month-long stretch that housed these two shows.
My friends, I’m here to tell you that our industry is strong, vibrant, and looking toward the future. I walked out of the Koelmesse each night feeling more and more confident that our industry is ready to overcome any economic challenges.
Chicago kicked off the encouraging month with some nice numbers … a total of 31,333 attended the show (a 9% drop as compared to the 2008 figures, which were an all-time high in the meeting’s 144-year history), with dentists making up 6,983 of those. I know talking to many exhibitors that sales were good and there was plenty of interest in the exhibit hall.
And again, hats off to Randy Grove and the entire Chicago crew for making the show three days next year (Feb. 25-27, 2010). With a shorter schedule and a new location (McCormick Place West), it will have a different feel … one that I bet will invigorate people as we get closer to the Midwinter.
The numbers from IDS were impressive: More than 106,000 visitors were there and IDS saw growth in visitors (6.9%), exhibitors (4.5%), exhibition space (6.2%), and foreign exhibitors (10%). More than 1,820 exhibitors (+4.5%) from 57 countries took part in IDS 2009. Those numbers are eye-popping, especially in a time when some are uncertain about the economy.