ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S. —  The 2013 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) exceeded its goal with more than 25,000 poultry, meat and feed industry attendees from all over the world, organizers said on Jan. 31. In addition, the show had 1,189 exhibitors with more than 430,000-net-square-feet of exhibit space. 
Final numbers will be released after the registration database has been audited for duplications. Sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), and the American Meat Institute (AMI), IPPE is the world's largest annual poultry, meat, and feed industry event of its kind. 
"We are extremely pleased with the number of exhibitors and attendees on the exhibit floor for IPPE. We have had a great turn-out this year, and the energy and excitement on the floor has been apparent all week," said the three trade associations.
The central attraction was the large exhibit floor. Exhibitors presented the latest innovations in equipment, supplies and services utilized by industry firms in the production and processing of poultry, eggs, feed products and meat. Many companies use the annual event to highlight their new products. All phases of the poultry, feed and meat industry were represented, from live production and processing to further processing and packaging.
An expanded education program complemented the exhibits by keeping industry management informed on the latest issues, organizers said. This year’s educational line-up featured 15 programs, ranging from an antibiotic conference on current issues for the poultry and egg industry to an international feed education program to international regulatory topics for meat.
The College Student Career Program attracted more than 400 students from 26 universities throughout the U.S., while the new International Student Career Program brought in 13 students from four countries. The graduating students interviewed for jobs and internships with 93 human resource representatives from 28 industry and allied firms. They were also able to visit the exhibit floor to see the most current technology used in today's poultry industry.
Other featured events included a Tech XChange program, the International Poultry Scientific Forum, Meat Me in @LANTA activities, publisher-sponsored programs, and the Pet Food Conference.