Following the lead of almost every major venue around the country, organizers of the International Fluid Power Show and CONEXPO-CON-AGRA made the decision to close the show a day ahead of schedule—Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. The coronavirus pandemic has already forced the cancellation or postponement of a number of future trade events.
The Associated Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which organizes the triennial event in Las Vegas, announced Thursday March 12 that the shows would cease operation a day early. “We made this decision based on conversations with our AEM officers and other leadership, several top exhibitors, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the office of the Nevada Governor,” AEM officials said in a press release.
“As we have said from early February when the first news of COVID-19 became available, we were committed to monitoring the situation daily and keeping our top priority focused on the health and safety of all participants at CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE 2020, including attendees, exhibitors, vendors, staff, industry partners and others involved in the show.”
Show officials had touted good registration numbers leading up to the show’s opening on March 10, but several booth cancellations, particularly in the IFPE space, did reduce attendance. The accelerating cancellations of all major sporting events and large gatherings of any kind also contributed to the decision.
