Sold-out show to attract big crowd

The Dallas Convention Center will be the site of the AHR Expo 2000. The Center completed a major expansion to help serve its clients more efficiently in 1994. (Courtesy, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.)

DALLAS, TX — It’s official. The International Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Exposition (IAHR Expo 2000) will mark its 70th anniversary February 7-9 at the Dallas Convention Center with a completely sold-out exhibit hall.

Considered to be the largest and most comprehensive exposition in the hvacr industry, the annual Expo attracts thousands of attendees from all facets of the industry, including contractors, engineers, dealers, distributors, wholesalers, oem’s, architects and builders, industrial plant operators, facility managers, agents, and representatives.

The Expo is co-sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). This supposedly “off-year” show will feature approximately 1,000 exhibitors in more than 300,000 sq ft of exhibit space with more than 19,000 visitors lining the aisles, looking to soak up technical information and free goodies.

Exhibitors will show their wares for commercial, industrial, residential, and institutional applications, including complete systems, individual units, component parts, and equipment for service and installation.

New and improved

In addition to the hundreds of new products and innovative solutions that will make their debut at the show, two special exhibit sections will return.

This year the popular Building Automation and Control Showcase will feature a special “building automation” session. The half-hour session, which will be repeated five times during the three days of the show, is titled “State-of-the-Art Capabilities in Building Automation.” It will explore the latest advances in intelligent building systems.

Presented by Ken Sinclair, editor of AutomatedBuild ings.com, and David Branson Sr., vice president of Compliance Services Group, Inc., the session will offer an overview of everything from the basics to the outer limits of building automation and integration.

Among the developments to be discussed will be the latest advances in addressable devices, environmental controls, energy metering and accounting systems, fire and life safety systems, security and surveillance services, and the capabilities of networked systems and web-based control.

The presenters will describe how the automation of commercial and residential buildings has progressed during the last several years, and will also explore the future of these advanced capabilities.

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The program is being offered by show management to provide a quick overview of the exciting technologies offered by exhibitors on the show floor, especially in the Building Automation and Control Showcase.

The Dallas Convention Center is the focal point of Dallas's multi-billion dollar convention, trade show, and meeting industry. Visitors to the AHR Expo will be walking their feet off as they work their way through the many hvacr exhibitors. (Courtesy, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.)

Return of software

The ever-popular Software Center will also return. More than 40 companies specializing in software development for the hvacr industry will be represented.

Designed to provide contractors, engineers, and other hvacr professionals with a “show within a show” where they can analyze the latest software offerings in one place, the Software Center will showcase everything from custom-designed software to products that can be bought off the shelf.

The types of software showcased will include products for accounting, business management, energy analysis, and equipment selection. Also highlighted will be software for pipe and duct sizing, planned maintenance, pricing, project management, system design, and just about anything else the hvacr professional could want.

Tech certification

New at the show this year will be certification testing by North American Technician Excellence Inc. (NATE), the leading certification program for hvacr technicians.

NATE will organize a morning and an afternoon session on February 8. In its ongoing efforts to test and certify the industry, the non-profit NATE hopes to reach the thousands of installation and service technicians who will be attending Expo.

Registration information is available by calling NATE toll-free at 877-420-NATE and online at www.natex.org. Technicians can also register onsite and through local chapters of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors National Association (PHCC-NA), and the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES).

Preregistration is also recommended for the AHR Expo, as it will save you time and money. The cost is only $5 to register in advance, or $20 at the door.

For more information on the show, contact AHR Expo at 203-221-0232; 203-221-9260 (fax); or www.ahrexpo.com (Web site).

Sidebar: Interesting statistics

An on-site survey of 1999 IAHR Expo attendees in Chicago found some interesting statistics about the people who attend the show:

Close to 70% are senior management.
93% recommend, specify or make final decisions.
88% plan to purchase products from IAHR exhibitors.
65% purchase within three months; 80% purchase within a year.
50% purchase two to five products based on their visit to the show.
72% plan to purchase between $100,000 and $1 million.
46% are contractors or dealers.
70% come to see what’s new, 20% to network.
15% are international visitors from 111 countries.
60% have attended prior IAHR Expos; 40% are first-time visitors.
Attendees average 13 years of industry experience; 40% have 20 years.
And 90% read trade magazines on a regular basis.

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Joanna Turpin is a Senior Editor at The ACHR NEWS. She can be contacted at 248-786-1707 or joannaturpin@achrnews.com. Joanna has been with BNP Media since 1991, first heading up the company’s technical book division before moving over to The ACHR NEWS, where she frequently writes about refrigerants and commercial refrigeration. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington and worked on her master’s degree in technical communication at Eastern Michigan University.