Inland Marine Expo moves to dome for fourth annual expo

ST. LOUIS — The Waterways Journal is gearing up for its fourth annual Inland Marine Expo (IMX) for the inland and intracoastal marine transportation industry. The event will take place May 22-24 at America’s Center in St. Louis.

Attendees will include representatives from inland ports and terminals, barge and towing companies, shippers, fleeting and harbor service providers, marine contractors, shipyards and repair facilities, engineers, divers, surveyors and other professional service providers, as well as related government agencies.

IMX will move to The Dome at America’s Center with what sponsors say will be an attendee-friendly floorplan and new audio and visual capabilities.

“We are excited to welcome over 250 exhibitors to St. Louis, along with an estimated 2,000 total attendees,” said Nelson Spencer Jr., president of The Waterways Journal. “IMX has a winning record, increasing in scope and value each year. 2017 will be no different as we set a new bar for the growing show.”

The show will attract attendees from across the country. The Marriott St. Louis Grand hotel was selected as the headquarters hotel and the Embassy Suites St. Louis Downtown will also be used.

In addition to moving to The Dome, IMX has made several exciting changes for 2017. Registration for this year’s show will include all of the below, and more:

– An active show floor full of 250 interactive exhibits, new product and service demos, live safety training, and special opportunities like a rope throwing contest, professional development lounge and more;
– Two special keynotes by top-rated nationally recognized speakers;
– A full conference agenda. Registrants will have 15 sessions to pick from, including in-depth presentations covering industry trends and projections from Informa Economics IEG, three Subchapter M compliance breakout sessions; two dock engineering and maintenance panels; a session covering electronic navigation, a discussion on social media challenges and best practices; and a panel on how best to market and improve tonnage in your region; and
– Admission to several special networking events, including a towboat christening and a waterfront reception hosted by Living Lands & Waters.

Another special addition for 2017 is a career fair organized by RiverWorks Discovery to take place on May 24, the final day of the show. For those looking for employment, the waterways offer a terrific career opportunity with the potential for solid wages. Qualifying job applicants will be offered complimentary registration for the day of the fair.

More information can be found at http://inlandmarineexpo.com/.

—      From the Illinois Business Journal