RadTech 2016 Reports Increased Attendance

By David Savastano, Editor | 05.24.16

Attendees, exhibitors say the show was a success.

The field of energy curing has been growing across the board, and RadTech 2016, held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL from May 15-18, also expanded this year.
 
RadTech North America, organizers of RadTech 2016, reported that the show grew 5% compared to 2016, with more than 1,400 attendees on land to learn what is new in the fields of UV, UV LED and EB curing. 
 
“We were up in overall numbers, exhibitor numbers and conference attendees from 2014 and 2012,” said RadTech North America’s Mickey Fortune.
 
“The show has been excellent,” added Gary Cohen, executive director of RadTech North America. “There is a wide variety of attendees from a lot of different industries. It is interesting how the industry continues to evolve. Two-thirds of the attendees are new to RadTech.”
 
Peter Weissman, RadTech International North America’s board president and global aerospace business director of Quaker Chemical, said the feedback he received was excellent.
 
“All of the comments I have heard have been very positive,” said Weissman. “All of the sessions were very well attended. It has been an outstanding and successful show.”
 
Attendees also felt that the conference was good.
 
Diane Parisi, Flint Group’s VP of procurement, said that RadTech is a good show. “It’s technical-driven, and is a good opportunity to see suppliers as well as to see where the technology is going,” she added.
 
“This year was good, with a lot of good presentations,” said Derrick Hemmings, field marketing manager– Canada, Energy Curable Products, Sun Chemical Limited. “I thought the focus on low migration was very good.”
 
“RadTech is good for networking with customers and learning more about the technical side,” added Dan Bolon, sales manager, Trust Chem USA LLC.
 
Exhibitors said they were pleased with the traffic on the floor as well as the contacts they made.
 
Scott Van Remortel, technical sales manager for Unimin, said that the growth on the show floor mirrors the expansion in the marketplace.
 
“The show has been very good for us,” Van Remortel noted. “It looks like the show’s exhibit space has doubled as well as attendance, which is consistent with market reports we’ve seen on UV, UV LED and EB.”
 
“The technology sessions were completely packed, which is very impressive,” reported Yasmin Sayed-Sweet, VP sales and marketing for Alberdingk Boley.  “There is a lot of traffic on the floor. We are very encouraged to see a lot of people from the paint industry here.”
 
“It’s a very good show” said Peter Vichos, regional sales manager, Midwest US and Canada, Netzsch Instruments North America, LLC. “We already have seen a lot of interesting people.”
 
“The show has been good,” Jeremy Smith, manager, sales and business development, Nagase America, reported. “People are interested in 3D printing and UV inks, and this is an interesting area. We also see growing interest in cationic ink.”
 
UV LED is an area that is drawing a lot of interest in the field, and companies specializing in UV LED said they saw strong results at their booths.
 
“The show has been better than I expected,” said Mike Higgins, regional sales manager at Phoseon. “It’s been excellent.”
 
“The show has been very good,” said Kirk Price, senior product manager at Excelitas. “We have a steady flow of people coming up to us to see what is new.”
 
“We are a first time exhibitor,” Bill Reisenauer, founding partner, LED Specialists, said. “I was very satisfied. There was lots of interest in our products.”
 
Robert Ruckle, global marketing and sales manager for Siltech Corporation, said that RadTech “is easily the best show we do in North America. 
 
“Everyone who comes by is on point and their needs match our capabilities,” Ruckle concluded. “There is a lot of foot traffic. We are focused on UV, and this is a great show for us.”