One of the leading indicators an economy or market is turning south is an industry filled with once-prosperous but now-struggling trade shows and expos. Exhibitor floor space shrivels up, attendance numbers slump; shows even consolidate or disappear altogether.
On the other hand, organizers of the 2017 International Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Las Vegas, said on the first day of the show that the AHR Expo would be the largest ever with nearly 2,000 plumbing and HVACR companies displaying their newest and most advanced products to an international crowd of nearly 70,000 attendees who browsed more than half a million square feet of exhibits filling two of the facility’s mammoth exposition halls.