The Houston-based IFMA's annual event most often attracts 4,500 to 7,000 attendees. The 7,000-participant record could be exceeded, given the foot traffic for on-site registration, Donald A. Young, IFMA vice president of marketing, predicts for GlobeSt.com. Today is the last full day of the 2003 conference; next year, it's Salt Lake City.

What is a certainty is the number of exhibitors stands at 256, of which 108 are IFMA first-timers and 28 are newcomers to the convention center circuit. "When people are trying new things, that's a sign of recovery," Young adds.

The IFMA expo, which focuses on "sustainability in the workplace," has brought together representatives from 126 chapters in the US, Canada and abroad. Representatives were on hand from Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom and Australia. As for the agenda, it was jam-packed with 108 sessions for a broad-based look at the "Best Practices" for today's "World Workplace."