The Regionality Of Major 3D Print Events

What will be present at TCT Show 2019?

There are dozens of 3D printing events taking place around the world, almost every day now.

You can book a visit to such an event to see products, meet practitioners, learn new skills, make deals and sometimes even have some fun. They are an important mechanism by which knowledge and money flow within the additive manufacturing world.

Events are of very different sizes. Some are very small local events, and even through they are small, attendees can still benefit. Other events are much larger; some catering to the world, or it seems so at times.

We’ve written extensively about these events in the past, mostly because our team likes to attend them. The reason is strictly economic: if we are spending money to go somewhere, we want to see as many companies and people as possible. Bang for buck, as you might say.

But there is something we’ve always noticed. Regardless of the intended geographic coverage of an event, there always tends to be an over-representation of regional vendors. For example, a European event naturally attracts more European vendors than an American event, and vice versa.

Some smaller vendors with lower travel budgets tend to attend events that are “next door”, and usually they are quite noticeable as compared to their neighbor exhibitors from afar.

Having attended many such events in different regions I am quite curious to see what vendors will be encountered at next week’s TCT Show 2019. I’ve not personally attended this event previously, and it is located in the UK. It’s highly likely all major UK-based 3D print companies will appear at the event, and there are quite a few of them.

According to TCT Show’s website, they expect to have “300 exhibitors”. No doubt I’ll get to meet with companies and individuals I’ve never managed to see previously, simply because this is the only show at which they exhibit, and I’ve never been.

This offers a bit of advice to 3D printing companies who tend to exhibit only at a single event: you’re missing out in a significant way. By exhibiting at different locations you will most certainly be seen by an entirely different audience, and if that audience meets your market targets, then it’s a good thing.

I’m quite looking forward to this journey, and I hope to see you there as well. If you’d like to meet up, please drop a line to us at [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do.

Via TCT Show 2019