The International Powder & Bulk Solids Conference & Exhibition (Powder Show) will take place Tuesday, April 29, to Thursday, May 1, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The Powder Show is the only North American event dedicated solely to bulk solids processing and handling. More than 3,000 attendees from around the world are expected to attend the show, which will feature more than 350 exhibitors showcasing the latest technologies and dozens of educational conference sessions.
Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss their equipment needs with experts on the show floor, attend two days of conference sessions led by industry experts on a range of bulk solids topics, and network with thousands of executives and engineers.
Why attend the Powder Show?
The Powder Show is a vital event for executives, plant owners, facility maintenance managers, process improvement managers, process engineers, safety engineers, plant operations, and maintenance engineers responsible for manufacturing processes in a diverse range of industries, including food and beverage, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, agriculture, building materials, animal feed and pet food, and energy.
“The Powder Show attracts engineers and executives from across the manufacturing spectrum who are driving innovation in their industries,” says Steve Everly, group event director for Informa Markets Engineering, the event’s producer. “These decision makers come seeking both strategic insights and practical solutions to enhance their operations. The show serves as a crucial platform where attendees can discover cutting-edge technologies, optimize existing processes, and ensure their facilities remain competitive and compliant. Whether they're looking to modernize current systems or develop entirely new production lines, participants gain invaluable knowledge and hands-on experience with the latest equipment and innovations shaping the future of powder and bulk solids handling.”
Powder Show conference
This year’s Powder Show conference will have five tracks: Fundamentals; Bulk Solids Storage, Retrieval, & Logistics; Dust Control & Safety; Conveying & Feeding; and Processing & Quality. The tracks were developed based on attendee feedback from the 2023 Powder Show and input from the show’s education advisory committee.
“In 2023, we had 6 tracks,” says Everly, “but we decided to combine the Dust Control track and the Combustible Dust Safety track into one track: Dust Control & Safety. We had a trial run of this combined track at the inaugural Powder and Bulk Solids conference in Houston last year and it was well received.”
The conference will feature two keynote presentations, with “Ethics in Engineering” on Tuesday and “Women in Processing” on Wednesday. Conference sessions include “The Hidden Depths of Bulk Materials Handling Engineering” presented by Colin Barbeau of Hatch Engineering; “Combustible Dust Safety — From Pilot Plant to Production” presented by Robert McFeaters of Harrington Group; “From Microscopic Interactions to Macroscopic Powder Bulk Behavior” presented by Aurélien Neveu of Granutools; and “Bulk Bag Education Session” presented by Jim Foster and Nate Gotschall of Global-Pak.
What Powder Show Conference presenters are saying:
Colin Barbeau, Hatch Engineering, who will present “Considerations for Repurposing & Resizing Pneumatic Conveying Systems with Case Studies” with Jack Hilbert of Pneumatic Conveying Consultants. “For people who don't know Jack, he's a monument in the bulk material handling industry. He's a tremendous educator, so you really don't want to miss it. Jack will present the key aspects that need to be evaluated to repurpose a pneumatic conveyor, and then I will be doing a live demonstration, where we will actually crunch some numbers with the audience. We're going to go through the process and see how we can make changes to a system for a new purpose. And I will be using a modern calculation tool to show everybody that this is, you know, within reach of anybody that wants to tackle this type of endeavor.”
Diane Cave, Element6 Solutions, who will present “Commissioning a Dust Collection System.” “I’ve spent a lot of time in the last 12 months where I'm going in to look at systems — and they're brand-new systems — and their idea of commissioning is to hit the go button and hope it all works. No one really commissions a dust collection system. So I’ll be talking about why it's important, how to go about doing it, what you should check, and what to look for. And hopefully, it'll help things function better in the future for everyone's dust collection systems.”
Jason Reason, Airdusco EDS, who will participate in a panel discussion on the recently enacted combustible dust standard NFPA 660. “It gives the attendees a good opportunity to ask any questions they have relating to NFPA 660 or even things that could happen in subsequent revisions of the new standard. It's a very unique opportunity because everyone presenting on that stage is actually a chair of the individual committees for NFPA 660. We even have the staff liaison for NFPA, who actually runs all those meetings with us.
Jeramy Slaunwhite, Rembe, who will present “The Magic of Flameless Venting for Managing a Combustible Dust Explosion.” “We'll do an open live explosion demonstration on the show floor at the Tech Theater and then repeat it again with a flame arrestor, showing the effectiveness of flameless venting in a small, controlled scale. But it really paints the picture and shows live and in front of the audience the magnitude of what a dust explosion can look like in a small packet to kind of paint that picture translated up to full scale in the minds of the audience.”
Scott Miller, Solids Handling Technologies, who will present “Silo Design for Gravity Flow.” “I've only gotten to be part of the Powder Show for maybe about the last 10 years now, and I'm always impressed by not just the number of attendees, but by those who are coming and then leave the show having gleaned information — whether it's related to silos, whether it's related to dust collection, whether it's related to feeding, conveying, pneumatic conveying, all these different topics — and I think there's a lot of benefit for the industry at large.”
New for 2025
Several new features will be introduced this year through the show’s Career Connections initiative, including three dedicated spaces to support professional development and career advancement: a Professional Headshot Station offering complimentary portraits, a Resume Review Station providing one-on-one consultations with professional reviewers, and the HeadSpace Career Center Theater, which features silent-disco-style headsets that allow attendees to fully engage with presentations while blocking out exhibition floor noise.
“We're also enhancing our networking opportunities with a new Networking After Dark event at Crust Brewing, open to both exhibitors and attendees,” adds Everly. “These additions reflect our commitment to delivering more value to our attendees while creating meaningful opportunities for professional growth and connection.”
A broad cross-section of manufacturing sectors
With an expansive exhibition floor, an extensive education program, increased networking opportunities, and attendees from a broad cross-section of manufacturing sectors, the Powder Show has something for everyone involved with bulk solids handling or processing.
“We see participation from companies of all sizes,” says Everly, “from innovative startups with just a handful of employees to major corporations like Scotts Miracle-Gro and Procter and Gamble. The event attracts professionals from pharmaceuticals, consumer packaged goods, building materials, plastics manufacturing, and the energy sector, reflecting the universal challenges and opportunities in process manufacturing. This mix of both company sizes and industries creates valuable networking and learning opportunities, as participants can share insights across different scales of operation and sectors.”
Admission to the Powder Show is free for qualified attendees who preregister online and $199 for attendees registering onsite at the show. Conference pricing varies, with early-bird discounts available through April 3, and group discounts available for groups of 3-5 and 6+ registrants.
