The 2022 Marine Fabricators Conference which was recently held at Wild Dunes Resort on the Isle of Palms, S.C., ended on a successful note. With 220 attendees, a record 90 first-time attendees and 46 exhibitors, conference-goers enjoyed a wide variety of education sessions, networking events, an over-the-top shop tour and a buzzing exhibitor show floor.

In addition to the packed exhibitor show floor, the opening night costume party and the MFA Fabrication Awards Dinner, this year’s conference included a fascinating in-person shop tour of LaPorte’s Products in North Charleston, a virtual tour of three other shops, and education sessions about shade sails, tools, upholstery diamonds, a case study of a collaboration between fabricators and community college students, solar power, shop scheduling tips, digital patterning pros and cons and a showcase of enclosure window techniques, according to a press release on the show.

“I found the discussions with other fabricators extremely helpful,” says Smith. “And the exhibitor showcase was really great. There was so much energy and a wealth of information. It’s so great to have it all in one spot. I would recommend this conference to anyone looking for collaboration and information,” Brenda Smith, owner of Legacy Canvas Unlimited in Port Clinton, Ohio, said in a statement.