SAE 2001 World Congress `Impact Numbers' Solid

    WARRENDALE, Pa., March 23 SAE 2001 World Congress, held
earlier this month at Cobo Center in Detroit, played host to participants from
all segments of the automotive technology community.  The Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE International) announced that attendance at this
year's 4-day event was 43,301.
    "The Society of Automotive Engineers is very pleased with the results of
this year's program," stated Neil Schilke, 2001 SAE President.  "Our `impact'
numbers, regarding key attendance categories, are strong and reports from the
SAE bookstore, technical sessions, virtual exhibit and other functional areas
are extremely encouraging."
    Twenty-three of 25 registration categories posted figures exceeding or
equal to last year's record SAE World Congress registration.  In one
significant category, non-North American attendance at the World Congress also
reached a new high of 20%, indicating that 1 out of every 5 registered
attendees was from outside the U.S. and Canada.  Also, OEM attendance was up
3% from the previous year.
    "This influx of non-north American SAE World Congress attendees not only
helps to bring a truly global perspective to the event, but it also brings
good business to the Detroit community," stated Dave Amati, SAE Group
Director.  A survey conducted in 1998 estimated the economic impact of the SAE
World Congress to be $47 million.  The number of hotel room nights booked
during the event in the Detroit-Windsor metro area has remained at capacity
for years.
    A record number of 1300 exhibitors, including 200 first-time exhibitors
and more than 300 from outside North America, filled Cobo Center.  This year
the SAE World Congress featured more compact exhibits with what many consider
"leaner" booth staffing, in numbers, than has been the norm.  Amati stated,
"This is a reflection of companies wanting to participate in the exhibition
while also looking to keep personnel costs as low as possible in response to
recent changes in the automotive marketplace."
    The SAE World Congress Virtual Exhibit, newly introduced in February 2001,
has been another bright spot, logging 520,000 hits in its first month.  It
will remain on-line at http://www.sae.org until September 2001, when it will be
updated to the SAE 2002 World Congress edition.
    The SAE 2002 World Congress is scheduled for March 4-7, 2002 at Cobo
Center in Detroit.