Over 1,300 business and product developers converged at Chicago’s Navy Pier for inaugural edition of FiltXPO, North America’s only exhibition and technical conference dedicated exclusively to filtration and separation products and processes. Over 100 exhibitors displayed their products and services to a crowd that included many first-time attendees.

The concurrent Technical Conference featured seven distinct sessions and 31 outstanding presenters during the three-day event February 26-28.

Many exhibitors praised the high-quality interactions they had with senior-level decision makers they met on the floor for the first time. These new acquaintances were looking for new materials and solutions to current design challenges they are facing. “The ability to forge new connections with first-time attendees in new business areas provided strong value that will generate high returns,” said Doug Brown, president, Biax-Fiberfilm.

The Technical Conference, chaired by Behnam Pourdeyhimi, PhD, associate dean at North Carolina State University and executive director of its Nonwovens Institute, featured sessions on biopharmaceutical filtration, membrane filtration, air & gas filtration, nanofibre filter media, water filtration, macro/nano modeling and separation & filter media technology.

The two-day Filter Media Training Course, conducted by Chris Plotz, director of education & technical affairs at INDA, the association of the nonwoven fabrics Industry, drew the maximum of 35 attendees who were extremely pleased with the level and quality of the instruction provided.

FiltXPO replaces the International Filtration Expo and Conference, which was organised annually by INDA for 27 consecutive years and, in the later years, alternated between Chicago and Philadelphia. FiltXPO is intended to be broader in scope, covering separation and membrane technologies, processes, and equipment. FiltXPO will be fixed in location at the Navy Pier in Chicago and take place every 18 months, with the next edition taking place from October 12-14, 2021.

FiltXPO is the only North American exhibition and technical conference dedicated exclusively to filtration and separation. Organised by INDA, the association of the nonwoven fabrics Industry, the three-day event features sessions focused on the hottest topics in air and gas filtration, biopharmaceutical, filter media modeling, membrane technologies, nanofiber, separating and manufacturing, and water filtration.