Innovative companies will showcase their products in a demonstration of how much the Tucson tech space has grown.

An especially exciting edition of the Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo Oct. 24, 2018, will showcase new technologies and products from innovative Arizona-based companies.

I say it’s exciting because Tucson and Arizona have become a hot spot for high technology research, development and manufacturing across many industries: mining, aerospace, biomedicine and optics. Companies and startups are finding that our area has the essential ingredients for success, including a talented workforce, appropriate Tucson tech space in which to do business and a supportive ecosystem.

That makes this year’s technology showcase by the Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Commerce Authority the biggest in its six-year history. There are around 65 exhibitors who will showcase their products to the AZ Tech Council’s membership, which is up 25 percent this year.

“We’re expanding into the lobby of the Tucson Convention Center in order to exhibit a lot of large things,” says Jeff Sales, the association’s executive director of the Southern Arizona regional office.

Planned demonstrations and exhibits include a self-driving vehicle, World View’s high altitude Stratolite craft, a remote-operator trailer by Caterpillar, rockets, robots, Humvee armor and 20 feet of lightweight infinite pipe and the machine that makes it.

Ten bio companies will be highlighted in the BIOSA (BioIndustry Organization of Southern Arizona) Pavilion, while 10 optics companies will gather at the Optics Valley Committee Pavilion.

“The take away (for attendees) is the breadth of technology in Southern Arizona,” Sales says. “I think they’ll be amazed.”

“There are companies that they may never have even seen before, that are not in their technology sector. There are all kinds of tech that they not have been exposed to and may be applicable to their area or their company.”

The event will start with two keynote addresses, one by BIOSA, followed by innovator presentations from AudioEye, IBM and TuSimple. The exhibit hall opens and an attendee mixer starts after the presentations.

I’ll be one of a handful of exhibitors who contribute to local technological innovation and growth through support services. Expo attendees can learn how to secure the best Tucson tech space for their business needs. I’ll talk about newly created Federal Opportunity Zones that will bring tax-credit investment into Pima County. It’s a program that can grow our local economy. I’m also giving away a cool electronic gadget in a drawing.

Other support exhibitors include employment services, college and high school institutions and a hotel.

Sales explains why these exhibitors are welcome to the expo.  “I describe the tech council as tech companies and the tech support companies around them,” he says. “There are a lot of infrastructure kinds of companies that you need.”

They help fulfill the tech council’s mission—to help its members thrive by meeting their needs.

Visit Michael Coretz at booth #2. He’ll discuss ways you can find the right Tucson tech space.