Pittcon science gathering has Pennsylvania roots, international appeal
A Penn Township firm that makes vacuum pumps will showcase its products next week at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy, among the world's largest science conferences.
But company officials will travel to Chicago to do it.
The conference, nicknamed Pittcon — organized by 11 paid staffers and a group of volunteers from the Pittsburgh area — attracts industry, academia and government attendees from more than 90 countries.
And while it started in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, by the 1960s it had grown too large to be held in the city and has remained that way ever since.
“We (host) about 2,000 technical presentations, we use about 30 hotels in the host city and in Pittsburgh, parking would definitely be an issue,” Pittcon spokeswoman Marian Nardozzi said.
Pittcon is not just an exposition for laboratory-science companies to demonstrate their wares, but also includes technical presentations and educational programming for students in its host cities, Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
For Mario Vitale, senior marketing and pricing manager at Leybold USA in Penn Township, it's about strengthening the vacuum manufacturer's brand.
“We're at Pittcon to support our main customers,” Vitale said. “We also go there to learn about the latest technologies. … We don't just send salespeople; we also send engineers to see what's going on throughout the industry.”
Leybold has exhibited for several years at the conference. For Clark Metal Products of Blairsville, 2017 will be its first year to attend.
“A few of our customers are focused on precision instrumentation in health care,” said Clark's business development coordinator, Kendy Pellegrene. “We also have a few who are involved in the life sciences. That's an arena we haven't dabbled in too much, and we thought this would be a great opportunity to get into that.”
In addition to being based in Pittsburgh, conference organizers bring back proceeds that go toward local science education.
Nardozzi estimated that the two science organizations whose volunteers make up the organizing committee — the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh — have distributed more than $4.5 million in grants, scholarships and science outreach programs throughout the Pittsburgh area in the past five years.
That does not include the financial impact on the host city, which is estimated this year at just under $30 million, Nardozzi said.
“Every year, it's different,” she said. “It's the same conference, but it's always in a different city, so it takes on a life of its own.”
Former Pittcon President Annette Wilson said she enjoys the networking aspect of the conference.
“I like meeting the presenters and the conferees, and learning about what interests them,” said Wilson, a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
The conference can inspire innovation. Mark Filtz, trade control manager and sales analyst at Leybold, said the company's multi-inlet vacuum pump was developed in cooperation with a client that company representatives met at Pittcon in the early 2000s.
“It was a unique partnership through a customer, and it allowed us to develop a product that's been sold to many other customers over the years,” Filtz said.
Vitale said the conference is the perfect opportunity “to touch base, talk with other companies and see what direction things are going, because everyone is there.”
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862 or pvarine@tribweb.com.
