Propane Expo attendance on pace with 2016 levels

The 2017 Propane Expo show floor remained busy with more than 4,000 total attendees.

Total attendance at the 2017 Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo kept pace with levels seen at the 2016 show, its first in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) reports.

More than 4,000 people representing all segments of the industry attended this year’s show in Nashville, according to NPGA. Attendees came from 48 states and Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and 39 countries and territories.

The attendance figure is similar to the 4,100 reported for the 2016 Propane Expo in Nashville. Both the 2016 and 2017 shows featured total attendance levels that were significantly higher than the 2015 show in Atlanta, where 3,000 people attended.

“People liked the change [to Nashville],” says Tim Esterling, chairman of NPGA’s Conventions Committee and trade show manager at Westmor Industries. “It’s an interesting convention city with a lot of energy here, a beautiful convention center and a lot of local places for people to visit.”

The 2017 show featured 45 educational sessions, including three general sessions, 28 concurrent breakout sessions, eight fast-track sessions and six propane technical workshops. The show also offered a 180,000-sq.-ft. exhibition hall with more than 250 exhibiting organizations taking up more than 73,000 sq. ft. of floor space, according to NPGA.

The Propane Expo shifts back to Atlanta in 2018 and 2019, and it will return to Nashville in 2020.

“We don’t know what effect switching back will have,” Esterling adds. “But people must understand the reason we come together as a trade show. Location is secondary to the components that go into the show.”