ALEXANDRIA, VA, Aug. 30, 2005 -- The Water Environment Federation (WEF) today announces a new record of 209,500 net square feet of sold exhibition floor space for WEFTEC®.05, the Federation's 78th annual technical exhibition and conference. This achievement comes nine weeks out from the conference opening at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29. The previous record of 204,860 was set at WEFTEC.01 in Atlanta.
Boosted by a 72% retention rate of returning exhibitors from WEFTEC.04, the Federation followed with outreach to new companies for this year's event. "The response has been incredible," said Nannette Tucker, Director of WEFTEC sales. "My phone has been in constant use�receiving calls and reservations." Included in that number are international companies from Denmark, Japan, and China, with more reservations expected. "Based on previous years [as we approach the conference date], estimates for the final number could increase by as much as 5,500-8,500 net square feet."
Another record on track to be broken is the total number of exhibiting companies. To date, 827 companies have reserved space on the WEFTEC.05 exhibition floor. This number is just six companies shy of the standing record of 833 set at last year's conference in New Orleans.
"This record-setting response just reinforces the value of WEFTEC to companies interested in exhibiting their products," continued Tucker. "The conference and exhibition serve as an ideal venue to conduct business and promote new, cutting-edge technologies."
As the largest water quality conference in North America, WEFTEC annually draws over 15,000 water quality professionals and offers a world-class technical program with unparalleled educational and networking opportunities. At WEFTEC.05, held Oct. 29-Nov. 2, attendees can choose from 111 technical sessions, 25 workshops and 11 interactive facility tours. Over 20 specialty tracks allow attendees to design their own learning experience and gain insights into developments, regulations, and research, as well as emerging technologies and proven approaches to everyday water quality challenges. In addition, this year's Washington, DC location has inspired a greater national and international policy focus and will offer direct exposure to Capitol Hill.
For the latest updates, including event and registration details, visit www.weftec.org.
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (www.wef.org) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 76 Member Associations in 30 countries.
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