The Launch of an Industry Phenomenon: LAB DAY  ®

If you’re a regular LAB DAY Chicago attendee it may be hard to believe that a show known to be the largest gathering of dental laboratory decision makers in North America began with just 30 exhibitors and about 275 attendees.

Prior to 1985, the Chicago Dental Society (CDS)’s MidWinter Meeting was housed in the downtown Hilton Hotel and a handful of companies hosted programs for the laboratory community across the street in the Blackstone Hotel. But in 1985, the CDS moved its meeting to the convention center, which left some companies up in the air about what to do for their technician customers.

LMT President Judy Fishman—agreeing with some laboratory manufacturers who felt their companies would be dwarfed at the MidWinter—booked space at the Blackstone and offered exhibit tables to laboratory product marketers. The rest is history: This month,...