Gardco, Food, and Transformers!!

We are back from the IFT Food Expo, the largest annual food science forum and exposition in the world. It has been considered one of the most important events held for professionals involved in food science and technology. We have participated at this event, as exhibitors and sponsors, since 2005. You may be asking, “Hey Paul Gardner Company, why are you at a Food Expo, aren’t you mainly involved in the Paint and Coatings industry”. Yes, in fact we started in 1936 with our focus on paint and coatings testing, but today we carry numerous items that can be used in a multitude of industries. For the food industry, for example, we provide such items as the CT3 Texture Analyzer, the Grain Moisture Meter and even our own manufactured Viscosity Cups and Weight Per Gallon Cups fulfill specific food testing needs.

The IFT Food Expo had a spectacular turnout this year, 22,000 in attendance and many of them international visitors. Though the heavy traffic at our booth was appreciated, it was a different story outside. A segment of Michigan Avenue was closed down due to the filming of the Transformers 3 movie. That’s right folks – we not only enjoyed a great Expo but we also experienced live street entertainment… jealous?! Don’t be, we have included some pics so you can feel a little part of the action! See the photograph with the car hanging off the bridge - boy was that a rough morning for us, we told our cab driver to get us to the Convention Center by 8am no matter what and he sure did. Yikes! Kidding of course :), it’s from the movie shoot.

This was the first year the show was combined with the Process Expo 10, a food Processing & Packaging Show, which happened to be located right across from the IFT show entrance. Vendors and guests could benefit from the best of both worlds. Several college students came out to be a part of these two large events. All in all it was a successful expo, you simply can’t lose when you mix beautiful Chicago weather with a Hollywood movie set on the street in front of you, delicious food and great show attendance.