WESTPORT, Conn. — The 2019 AHR Expo returned to Atlanta for the first time since 2001 and by all accounts the show delivered. This year the show floor exhibited 1,824 companies from across the entire industry, including 497 international exhibitors, bringing together the best in technology and product advancement. Throughout the three-day show, there was palpable energy felt for the future of HVACR among attendees and exhibitors alike.

“The HVACR industry is in a very exciting position at the moment and that energy was evident on the show floor this year,” said Mark Stevens, show manager of AHR Expo. “Attendees came from all over the globe and from every corner of the industry to make this Show a success. We’ve received great feedback on the quality of networking from both attendees and exhibitors and look forward to seeing many of these connections come to life in the products and technologies on the Show floor in Orlando next year.”

This year the AHR Expo used radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to verify attendance, which allows for the scanning in of each person without stalling the crowd and creating long wait times. This means that the Show was able to generate a true capture of every attendee that walked through the door, spent time on the exhibitor floor as well as in education sessions. In previous years the show relied on pre-registration and on-site registration to quantify attendance. The 2019 numbers are strong, with a total verified attendance of 45,078.

“The planning of the show has always been focused on creating the best experience for our exhibitors and attendees," said Stevens. "We recognized the benefit of verifying attendees long before the technology allowed us to do it in a way that didn’t interrupt the experience we wanted to create for those who travel to be here. We want our attendees and exhibitors networking, capturing leads, learning, interacting and focused on their day rather than waiting at the gate to be scanned in. The new verified technology allows us to do just that.”

The 2019 AHR Expo Education Program covered a broad range of topics in depth, providing insights for all AHR stakeholders into market trends, tips to building a business, energy savings, as well as industry best practices.

The AHR Expo awarded its esteemed Product of the Year award for 2019 to enVerid Systems. enVerid was also recognized as the winner of the 2019 Innovations Awards Green Building category for its HVAC Load Reduction^® (HLR) Module 1000E-M. Each year, winners are selected in a total of 10 industry categories. A ceremony hosted during the AHR Expo recognized all winners from these categories and an overall Product of the Year winner was chosen.

“Being named Product of the Year is an enormous honor and extremely gratifying to our entire team,” said Dr. Udi Meirav, founder and president of enVerid Systems. “But even more importantly, it is a recognition of the transformative potential of HLR technology for the entire industry. We hope this will further encourage the industry to accelerate the adoption of HLR-based designs of HVAC systems and bring its phenomenal benefits to buildings all over the world.”

“I come to the AHR Expo for the education it provides me in my everyday service to my customers," said Timothy Snodgrass, owner of Velvet Ridge Services, LLC. "It is a day or two away from my business, but the payback in my service after coming from the Show is immeasurable. I learn more in two days’ time than I did in the six months of my training. What’s more is the follow up from vendors has been amazing, they are sharing so many useful and educational materials even now that I'm home that I can immediately apply to my practice. Every conversation I had was helpful and enthusiastic, even if I don't use the product right away, I've made a useful networking connection. Some of the things I see on the exhibitor floor I am already using, some I know of and haven’t yet and there are some things that I didn’t even know existed that I could be using. I came to the 2019 Show looking for a solution to an issue I had moving fresh air into a new build in a more cost-effective way. I found a product right there on the floor and my problem is now solved at a much lower cost for my customer. This Show is beneficial to my business and to my professional career.”

“I've attended the AHR Expo for the past 10 years. As an OEM Product Development Engineer, I find it's a convenient place to meet all of our suppliers in one place," said Dan Rheault, product development engineer, Maritime Geothermal Ltd. "I'm also able to stay up-to-date on the latest technological developments and source new components for my designs. I can meet up with any customers or potential customers to discuss the heat pumps we manufacture.”

“We come to the AHR Expo year after year because we are looking for the newest devices and software programs that are in our commercial buildings. We integrate new technologies for our customers so that they can use the app-based services via the Internet of Things and cloud-based services. This Show is really the place where you can get all this information in a day or two, look at what is happening in the industry and really know where the industry is going. We are at the forefront of exciting things happening for manufacturing and HVAC as a whole,” said Michael Youngs, vice president of sales, commercial for Motili, a Daikin Company.

Word from exhibitors also pointed to a successful overall show.

“The AHR Expo is a great opportunity to meet and interact with our core contractor and distribution audience in one place," said Samantha Walker of Magic-Pak^®, an Allied Air Enterprises LLC brand. "It presents an opportunity in the industry to meet with a large volume over three days — our booth traffic was strong. This year we were able to introduce key changes made to the Magic-Pak M-Series™ in compliance with the 2019 DOE requirements. It was a great Show for many reasons and we look forward to benefiting from it into 2019, as well as exhibiting at the 2020 Show.”

This was a good Show for us, even considering this is a Southern region show which is typically slower for us since we are primarily a heating equipment manufacturer," said David Walsh, vice president of sales, USA, NTI Boilers. "We had good numbers and a steady flow in the booth on day one. We really enjoyed and appreciated the Show App and its capabilities this year because we could easily organize our leads and send them off to the appropriate sales contact directly from the Show floor. We’ll be back in Orlando in 2020 and we look forward to a busy year ahead with the leads we’re taking away from Atlanta.”

The next AHR Expo will be held Feb. 3-5, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.

Publication date: 1/29/2019

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