I have attended a lot of really great trade shows. The 2012 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) was one of the most impressive that I have ever seen. The event was held at the Reliant Center in Houston on April 30 - May 3, 2012.
The Reliant Center is an enormous convention center and it was completely full of exhibits. As if that was not enough, the Reliant Arena, also on location, which itself is a fairly large facility was also full to the max with more exhibits. Add to that, a very large temporary structure that looked like a big tent and some outside exhibits, and you have quite an impressive trade show.
An extensive technical seminar program as well as numerous networking events were also held to make this a complete OTC experience for the over 80,000 attendees. It even included a Houston Astros baseball game!
In our estimation, OTC featured some 100+ fluid power exhibitors making this one of the largest displays of fluid power technology in the US. Fluid power plays a major role in the exploration, extraction, and processing of oil and gas.
This show is so successful, that it is completely sold out. The hotels, car rentals, and local restaurants are also booming from the event.
Our Southwest backcover advertiser for Hydraulics & Pneumatics hosts a fantastic hospitality for their customers in conjunction with the OTC and it is called the Crawfish Boil. Being a northerner from Ohio, Crawfish is not a regular part of my diet but I did partake. Thank you so much Hydraquip for inviting me! Thank you also for distributing copies of Hydraulics & Pneumatics at your booth at OTC.