NORWALK, CT-Quality Expo, an event focused on quality solutions for manufacturers, brought 5,864 industry professionals together April 19 to 21 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL-an 11% increase in attendance compared to the 2003 event. Visitors walked the exhibit floor and talked to the 300 suppliers, finding the newest quality-related machines, tools, technologies and services.

Several exhibitors conceded that the show was a success. "Quality Expo has been a very good show for us. There is a lot of interest in our product and traffic is good. We've been exhibiting here for four years. The right people are definitely here," said Robert Levine, director of customer service at Laboratory Accreditation Bureau.

In addition to the exhibit floor, the industry-driven conference program, which began on April 18, helped drive the success of the expo. The four-day program featured courses by top organizations in the industry, including American Society for Quality, The Association for Operations Management, The Materials Information Society, Edison Welding Institute, Automotive Industry Action Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Quality magazine. Sessions covered topic such as lean production, Six Sigma, statistical process control, mistake proofing and nondestructive testing.

Many free educational sessions took place at the event as well, including a keynote address by Joseph De Feo, president and CEO of Juran Institute. His presentation, "Breakthrough Solutions to Achieve and Sustain a Cutting Edge in Quality Leadership," challenged attendees to strive continuously for improvement.

In conjunction with the event, Quality magazine unveiled its inaugural Quality Plant of the Year award on the first evening of the show, April 19. Publisher of Quality, Tom Williams, presented the award to Sarah Stricker, quality control specialist from Diamond Electric Manufacturing Corp., who accepted the trophy on behalf of her employer. Diamond Electric manufactures ignition coils in Eleanor, WV.

Reed Exhibitions, the company that produced the event, dubbed this year's show a hit. "We are pleased to have partnered with such superb industry associations to provide educational content at Quality Expo," said Joseph McGeachy, event director, Reed Exhibitions. "We want to make sure that when customers visit Quality Expo, it is well worth their time," he added.

Quality Expo Detroit will take place June 7 to 8, 2006, at the Novi Expo Center, Novi, MI. Visit www.qualitydetroit.com for more information.