In picking Atlanta to host its International Air Cargo Forum & Exhibition in 2012, The International Air Cargo Association returns to the place it all began 50 years ago. Atlanta hosted TIACA's first ever industry event in 1962.

Jack Boisen, chairman of TIACA, said picking Atlanta was less about sentimentality and more about its accomplishments as a growing center of air cargo.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the 28th largest cargo center in the world, handled a record 391,909 tons of air freight in 2006.

The city is strategically located, a two-hour flight to 80 percent of the U.S. population.

The airport and city are home to around 200 domestic and international freight forwarders. In addition to belly-hold cargo, there are approximately 60 all-cargo flights per week from Atlanta to Europe and Asia.

The airport plans to build an additional 100,000 square feet of cargo space, adding to its existing 1.5 million square feet of handling capacity.

Robert W. Moorman