DEARBORN, MI, July 13, 2009 – A record number of more than 6,100 visitors descended on the Cintermex Exposition facility, June 2-4, 2009 to attend the first-ever co-located metal forming, fabricating and welding show in Monterrey, Mexico.

The mega event brought together the new FABTECH Mexico show with two existing shows, AWS Weldmex and METALFORM Mexico. The combination of these prestigious events provided attendees a "one-stop-shop" environment to see the latest equipment and processes from an array of metal forming, fabricating and welding technologies. "We were able to bring our entire buying team from different departments, which saves us several months of sourcing" said Ing. Roberto Figueroa, sourcing director, Industrias John Deere.

Attendees traveled from all parts of Mexico and South America to attend this show. "We achieved our goal of creating a joint event to serve manufacturing professionals and practitioners throughout Mexico and Central America. Over 30% of the attendance came from outside Monterrey and 15% from Mexico City and southern Mexico," commented Mark Hoper, FMA's director of expositions. There were also attendees from the U.S., Canada and other Latin American countries.

"In conjunction with AWS Weldmex and METALFORM Mexico, FABTECH Mexico created an optimal environment for companies to expand their reach into the heart of Latin America's manufacturing community," stated John Catalano, SME's director of expositions. The combined event drew more than 300 exhibiting companies, making it the largest machine tool exposition in Mexico. Exhibitors met and networked with qualified buyers over the course of the three days and took this opportunity to demonstrate their new products and technologies. "Face-to-face events are the best way to market our products," said Enrique Parra, sales manager for HEMSA, a major exhibitor. "We will continue to use this event as our marketing arm in the future", said Parra.

The mega exposition, sponsored by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International (FMA), the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), American Welding Society (AWS), and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), will hold its next event on May 11-13, 2010 in Mexico City.

For more information or to reserve your space for FABTECH MEXICO 2010, call FMA at (800) 432-2832 ext. 271 or SME at (800) 733-3976 ext. 3126.

FMA

The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International, headquartered in Rockford, Ill., USA, is a non-profit educational association dedicated exclusively to metal forming and fabricating professionals. Founded in 1970, it is considered the world's largest educational association for its industry, with thousands of members worldwide. FMA provides in-depth technical information and educational opportunities through conferences, award-winning magazines, extensive research services, and co-sponsorship of the FABTECH International series. Visit FMA at http://www.fmanet.org.

SME

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its many programs, events and activities, SME connects manufacturing practitioners to each other, to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning all manufacturing industries and disciplines, plus the key areas of aerospace and defense, medical device, motor vehicles, including motorsports, and oil and gas. A 501(c)3 organization, SME has members in more than 70 countries and is supported by a network of technical communities and chapters worldwide. Visit SME at http://www.sme.org.

AWS

The American Welding Society is the largest organization in the world dedicated to advancing the science, technology, and application of welding and allied processes including joining, brazing, soldering, cutting, and thermal spray. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, AWS serves more than 50,000 members in the United States and around the world. Visit the Society's Web site, www.aws.org.

PMA

The Precision Metalforming Association is the full-service trade association representing the $91-billion metalforming industry of North America. Its 1100 member companies include metal stampers, fabricators, spinners, slide formers and roll formers as well as suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. Through advocacy, networking, statistics, the Educational Foundation, METALFORM tradeshows and MetalForming magazine, PMA helps lead innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability. Visit www.pma.org