Las Vegas may be a good locale for Fabtech this year.

Based on early figures, organizers are predicting big things for next month’s Fabtech.

Pre-registration forms show 48 percent of those coming to the Oct. 6-8 event at the Las Vegas Convention Center will be first-time attendees, organizers said. More than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space has reserved.

  “These figures underscore why we decided to stage our event for the first time in the western United States, one of the strongest manufacturing regions in the country,” said John Catalano, show manager for Fabtech co-sponsor Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

The American Welding Society and Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International are also sponsoring this year’s show.

“The Las Vegas venue is attracting a wave of key decision makers and influential buyers who have never attended the event, and exhibitors are responding in kind with added space,” Catalano said. “We anticipate more than 30 percent of attendees will be from the Rocky Mountain and Western states, a huge increase from our recent shows in Chicago and Atlanta. Plus, international pre-registration is up 15 percent, attesting both to the draw of our programs and the Las Vegas venue.”

Attendance is predicted to be above 20,000.