For the first time in 14 years, Pittcon returned to Atlanta, Georgia, this year. Pittcon 2011 was held March 13–18 at the Georgia World Conference Center. The attendance figures as of March 28 showed that total attendance increased 1.3% from Pittcon 2010, which was held in Orlando, Florida, to just over 17,000. This marks the first increase in total attendance since 2007. Excluding exhibitors, media, and undergraduate and high school students, the number of conferees (see graph, page 9), fell 1.2% to 9,512, following an 11.1% drop last year. Twenty-five percent of conferees were from countries other than the US.

Exhibitor presence also improved. The number of exhibitors rose 2.0% to 979, 20% of which were companies based outside the US. Twelve percent of exhibitors were participating for the first time. Foot traffic on the exhibit floor was uneven, according to IBO’s observations. The exhibitors with which IBO spoke reported a positive show experience. However, some companies were clearly excited about the show being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2013.

Pittcon is a key event for trade press coverage. There were 23 press conferences at this year’s show. At both their press conferences and booths, Agilent, Bruker, EMD Millipore and ITT Analytics emphasized their expanded product lines and strategic focuses resulting from their respective 2010 acquisitions. Agilent introduced new products based on Varian technology, discussed the ongoing transformation of its NMR product line and noted that nearly 10,000 Varian products have been added to the Chemical Analysis Group’s price list as a result of the acquisition.

Bruker’s new range of technologies was evident. Bruker updated Varian’s ICP-MS technology (see IBO 3/15/10) with the release of the Aurora ICP-MS. The company also launched the GC Care line of GC columns, consisting of more than 2,000 standard column choices. The offering provides consumables for Varian’s former laboratory GC systems.

At its press conference, EMD Millipore gave an overview of the new business, which now has a 2,000-person field organization. In 2010, nearly 25% of the new business’s revenues came from products launched within the last three years. Those new products include the Scepter handheld automated cell counter, of which over 1,500 have been sold.

At its press conference, ITT Analytics explained how its new Analytics business serves markets adjacent to the company’s existing water businesses, which supply pumps and systems to transport and treat water. ITT Analytics consists of nine companies with 865 employees. Germany accounts for 33% the business’s sales, and North America represents 17%.

The new products at the show (see page 3) indicated the importance of productivity improvements, including faster analysis time, ease of use, automation, integrated workflows and comprehensive software. As usual, products introduced encompassed not just instruments, but aftermarket products and consumables. Among the “firsts” at the show were Shimadzu’s first triple quadrupole MS system (see page 8); Hamilton’s FlipTube, the first microcentrifuge tube that can be opened and closed by a liquid handler’s independent pipetting channel; and Waters’s first release of its UNIFY informatics platform (see page 3).

New service offerings were also announced. Thermo Fisher Scientific unveiled its Global Enterprise Services program, an enterprise-level customizable service offering that expands to a wider set of end-users than the company’s previous service offerings. Agilent Chemical Analysis announced its “Fast Track” services for multivendor repair, maintenance, compliance, and utilization and asset management. Phenomenex introduced its PhenoLogix method development and separation services. Dionex announced the “You Are Our Focus” initiative, which includes preventive maintenance, system qualification, results compliance and training programs. Pittcon 2012 will be held March 11–16 in Orlando, Florida.

 Column Graph: Pittcon Registration
 	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
 Conferee	9928	11875	10677	11375	10098
 Exhibitor	9743	10338	8859	7643	6778