29 Mar State pavilion goes for height, style at BIO expo
Madison, Wis. — It may be a flat state, but at BIO 2006 in Chicago it’s altitude that organizers of Wisconsin’s pavilion hope will draw people from across the exhibition floor. The state’s booth will feature a 16-foot tower with lighted displays, which Forward Wisconsin previewed at its last downtown planning meeting in Madison before the April 9-12 event.
Jan Alf, director of business development for Forward Wisconsin, is coordinating company involvement in the pavilion. At the meeting on Tuesday, participants got a sneak peek at the plans as well as numbers showing that total registration numbers for this year’s event are ahead of last year so far, despite BIO’s early worries that the Midwest would not be able to draw as much attendance as the biotech hub of Philadelphia.
As state biotech association president Jim Leonhart pointed out, Wisconsin’s $7 billion biotech industry is now bigger than beer. Whether that fact will draw more attention at BIO than the German booth, which will be serving beer, is an open question.
But visitors to the Wisconsin booth won’t need to be intoxicated to gain a broad understanding of what the state has to offer.
A 20-seat auditorium will play host to Wisconsin companies and officials, who will talk throughout the day on biotech resources and opportunities here, as well as a three-minute promotional video. And a private conference table inside a spiral-shaped display is being made available in 30-minute increments for further discussion.
To read more about BIO:
• Wisconsin to show up at BIO in numbers
• Where will you be at BIO?