From The Editor

Strolling the halls of the Georgia World Congress Center last week, it was hard not to feel a little upbeat.

The Atlanta convention center was the site of this year’s FABTECH event, the annual trade show for metalworking of all kinds. While the Chicago show went on as scheduled last year, this was the first that wasn’t conducted under the specter of COVID. A surge in cases took place in the weeks leading up to the event, forcing a lot of attendees, and exhibitors, to back off at the last minute.

Not this time. This was FABTECH back at close to full bore. And given the number of show-goers and the enthusiasm of most exhibitors and it seemed the Atlanta attendees were not overly worried about a significant downturn in industrial activity in the year to come.

Obviously, some normal caveats apply – these were salesmen we spoke with, after all. But with so much talk about a slowdown in the air outside the convention center, it was sure nice to experience just a little touch of optimism.