DETROIT, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- "A resounding success" is how SAE staff
organizers refer to the SAE 2003 World Congress, which concluded last week in
Detroit, MI. The annual conference and exhibit for automotive engineers and
managers unveiled several new additions to the event that, coupled with its
historically strong base of technical offerings, have many veterans of the
meeting singing its praises.
SAE Director of Automotive Business Dave Amati noted the overall mood of
the week was very upbeat. "The feedback that we have received from the
exhibitors has been resoundingly positive! The exhibit traffic not only
increased this year, but the overall classification of attendees tended to be
a higher-level of corporate representative than in previous years."
Initial figures indicate total attendance was up 3-4% from last year, in
spite of a continued tough economy and some of Detroit's worst winter weather
in recent memory. More important to organizers than the quantity of
attendees, extensive research conducted in the registration area indicated
that quality of the audience was more to the liking of the SAE World Congress
exhibitors.
Preliminary figures indicate that half of the attendees worked in product
research/development jobs, and approximately one quarter worked at an OEM
site. SAE attributes the latter increase to the new OEM technology exhibits
and hosting of on-site executive meetings by DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and
General Motors. Both of these qualitative numbers were significantly higher
than last year's.
"We are very enthusiastic about the success of this year's event," stated
Amati. "SAE has worked very hard during the past year to listen the needs of
OEM's and suppliers and to make the kinds of progressive changes that will add
value for the automotive community. I strongly believe the 2003 Congress has
demonstrated that this work has paid off!"
The SAE Technology Theater, a new exhibit-based automotive business forum
that was one of the principal additions to this year's event, soared past
pre-event expectations. The enclosed 400-seat area was frequently filled to
standing-room-only capacity as participants gathered to catch a first-hand
view of business perspectives from automotive industry leaders.
One not-so-obvious measure of success for the event: SAE Professional
Development Courses, many of which were conducted at locations outside Cobo
Center, attracted 500 participants, nearly double the number from last year.
International attendance, defined as arriving from outside the U.S. and
Canada, tracked consistently with recent years at approximately 18% of the
total.
"Fortunately, international tensions did not seem to significantly
discourage participation," added Amati. "The conflict in date with the Geneva
Auto Show may have had a minor effect on our overall attendance, however, we
are pleased that Geneva's press days and our event will not overlap in 2004."
The 2004 SAE World Congress is slated for March 8-11, 2004, at Cobo Center
in Detroit, Michigan. Additional information regarding the event is available
at http://www.sae.org.
SOURCE SAE International
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Related links:
http://www.sae.org
CONTACT:
Mark Burd, SAE Corporate PR, +1-724-772-4052,
or mburd@sae.org
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