1998 SAE Congress Sets New Records
5 March 1998
1998 SAE Congress Sets New Records
WARRENDALE, Pa., March 5 -- The 1998 SAE International
Congress & Exposition, held February 23-26 in Detroit, Michigan, set new
records with the largest exposition and technical program in the 93-year
history of the event.
Approximately 1,400 global suppliers to the automotive industry exhibited
their newest products and services on the show floor, compared to the
836 companies who exhibited in 1997. This 40 percent increase was made
possible due to the location change of the SAE Annual Banquet. Available
exposition space increased by 15 percent to 350,000 net square feet (NSF), up
from 300,000 NSF in 1997. The exposition sold-out for the fifth consecutive
year even though available space was significantly increased.
The number of technical sessions and papers presented at SAE '98 was
recorded at 236 and 1,194, respectively. At the 1997 SAE Congress
220 sessions were offered and 1,146 papers were presented. Thousands of the
world's most renowned automotive engineering experts participated in the SAE
'98 technical program by organizing sessions and presenting papers. All
written technical papers presented at SAE '98 will be published by SAE and
become part of SAE's Global Mobility Database, available on a subscription
basis to Internet users worldwide at http://www.sae.org/GMD.
Attendance at SAE '98 was verified at 46,100, up 2.2 percent from 1997
with the percentage of global visitors increasing each year. It is estimated
that nearly 20 percent of the SAE '98 attendees came from outside the United
States and represented more than 50 countries.
"We felt positively about the quality of the contacts that we made at the
SAE Congress last week," said Stan Rayford, Marketing Communications Manager,
Dupont Automotive. "Quantitatively, we doubled the number of contact leads
from SAE '97."
"The SAE Show has always been a profitable marketing tool for our
organization," said Max Lanz, Marketing Manager, Robert Bosch Corporation.
"It would have taken us months to connect with the specifiers and purchasers
that we met with last week. Instead it only took us 32 hours on the show
floor."
According to David L. Amati, Director of SAE's Professional Meetings and
Activities Group, the increase in attendance at the 1998 event is reflective
of the changing nature of the automotive industry.
"Rapidly changing automotive technologies, the global nature of the
industry, and changing relationships between OEMs and Tier I, II, and III
suppliers," said Amati, "affects the SAE Congress each year. New processes,
technologies and materials are being used to produce vehicles. These changes
can impact attendance demographics and the composition of SAE Congress
participants from year to year."
The SAE Congress is the world's largest and most significant technical
event for the automotive industry and offers something for all professionals
involved with the automotive technology.
Dr. William Powers, Vice President-Research, Ford Motor Company, served as
General Chairman for SAE '98. Next year's event chairman is Robert Oswald,
Chairman, President and CEO, Robert Bosch Corporation. The theme for the 1999
SAE Congress is "Value for our World: The Innovation Challenge."
For SAE '98 highlights, special events and technological announcements,
visit SAE '98 Online, published by Automotive Engineering, at
http://www.sae.org/CONGRESS.
SOURCE SAE