Due to the evolving COVID-19 Coronavirus concerns, the Grain Elevator and Processing Society’s International Executive Committee has decided to postpone GEAPS Exchange 2020 until July 16-19, 2020. It will still take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The annual conference traditionally draws thousands of attendees, and was scheduled to take place March 21-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Over 400 exhibitors had planned to attend this year. GEAPS International President Steve Myers, Bunge Milling, was part of GEAPS’ crisis team, meeting weekly to review new developments. “After monitoring the situation over the last few weeks, the Executive Committee made this decision to protect the health of attendees, exhibitors, staff and everyone involved in the show,” Myers said.
GEAPS is rescheduling all events and meetings in conjunction with the event. Registrations from the original schedule automatically carry over to the new dates. GEAPS is also working through several contingencies with the official conference hotel room block.
“This was a very difficult decision and we appreciate the continued support of our members, exhibitors and the industry,” said Steve Records, GEAPS Executive Director. “We remain committed to producing Exchange at its usual high standard to achieve GEAPS’ mission and expand the network of agricultural professionals sharing knowledge and information.”
In addition to the Expo Hall, the event had nearly 40 hours of education planned on grain entrapment, confined space solutions and other topics. GEAPS will announce an updated education schedule in the future. The new dates overlap with the GEAPS Leadership, Education and Networking Workshop. That event is cancelled, and workshop speakers will be assimilated into the new Exchange 2020 schedule.
For attendees and exhibitors who had already registered or book rooms for the event, GEAPS will follow up directly with next steps.
About GEAPS
The Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) is an international professional association that supports its members and the industry by serving as The Knowledge Resource for the world of grain handling and processing industry operations. GEAPS addresses the industry’s critical grain handling, storage and processing operations needs by providing the finest networking, professional development programs, and access to a global marketplace of equipment, services and technology solutions providers. GEAPS’ global network of industry professionals includes more than 2,500 individual members from about 1,050 companies.
