I REMEMBER THE VERY FIRST INDUSTRY "TRADE SHOW" I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND. I REMEMBER IT AS IF IT WAS... WELL, NOT LIKE YESTERDAY, MAYBE MORE LIKE THREE WEEKS AGO. THE FIRST TRADE SHOW I EVER ATTENDED WAS IN AUGUST OF 1981. IT WAS THEN KNOWN AS THE CERAMIC TILE DISTRIBUTOR'S ASSOCIATION (CTDA) AND WAS HELD THAT YEAR IN WASHINGTON, DC.
It was such a big event - I had never seen anything like it in my life! Everything that had anything to do with the Ceramic Tile business was being shown. This show, the CTDA, would go on to evolve into what is today known as Coverings.
I was a young 26-year-old guy, full of vim and vigor, looking at everything I could to learn as much as possible about the Industry that I had grown up around-my dad was in the Tile side of the business when I was born.
I remember that this CTDA "show" was so large, that it had to be held in two separate, adjoining convention halls. The funny thing that I still remember is that all of the "American" or domestic products were showcased in one hall, and all of the "Foreign" companies were in another. Many of the smaller companies had some poor schmuck that couldn't speak a lick of English, trying to make himself understood with all of the American attendees by demonstrating how his product worked, or writing out the purchase price per square foot of tile if someone was interested in becoming their US Distributor.
Because the 1981 CTDA event was my very first trade show, I was totally oblivious to what exhibiting companies were paying for the privilege showing their products or just meeting people on the floor of the trade show.
As I have watched our Industry evolve, I have noticed that many guys, to this day, do not have a clue what kind of tremendous financial investment and commitment is involved in being an exhibitor at a national or international trade show. While weathering the economic storms in the recent years we have seen so many guys go out of business, both large and small. So naturally the talk at the trade shows recently has been, "Who is not here this year?"
This is an easy question to ask, but many that ask it do not take into consideration that the costs for a company to be "part" of a show have to be justified into their bottom line: sales. They are way off target in understanding the amount of money a company must lay out to have a "presence" at a major trade show.
With this in mind, I thought that I would do a quick review on the "realities" of exhibiting at a trade show. As we enter the 2010 trade show "season," I have lost count of the number that I have attended, either as an exhibitor or as a presenter of one of the educational seminars associated with the many trade shows.
Don't get me wrong here-I am not by any means trying to dissuade anyone from going or attending, my intention is quite the opposite. I would like people in the industry to realize that the companies consistently attending our Industry Trade Shows deserve a big "Thank You" for being there. I believe the Trade Shows themselves are key in getting our message out to the Industry. Trade shows like Coverings and StonExpo can be vital tools for people, companies and trade organizations to meet the masses and make our Industry stronger.
Let's take a look at a hypothetical company that makes heavy equipment like saws, CNC machines and edge machines, and wants to be an exhibitor at a major Stone Industry trade show. We'll call our hypothetical company "Acme Machine," a subsidiary of the same Acme Company that keeps trying to "nail" the Roadrunner in the cartoons... Wile E. Coyote is their most loyal customer.
First, there's the show's real estate: the square footage needed to present your products on the show floor. Let's say Acme Machine's booth space is going to be a 30 x 40 feet. That means that Acme will be renting 1,200 square feet of floor area at $25.00 per sq. ft, to the tune of $30,000 dollars- and that's just for the concrete floor space.
Then there's the carpet that exhibitors must rent. That's another $3,000 dollars. Next, we have to include the machines exhibited at the show; they just don't "appear" out of no-where. There are considerable freight costs to ship just one machine from the Acme "factory" out there in the desert where Wile E. Coyote hangs out. Freight to ship multiple machines across the country in time to be set up for a trade show can add up, because the machines must also be shipped back to the factory, or sold (hopefully) to a customer that can take delivery of a "show" machine. Freight and associated transport of display machines and can be anywhere around $10,000 dollars.
Set-up and tear-down needs to have qualified technicians on site to do the work, as many of Acme's machines have to actually "run" for the show. Tech personnel can cost $2,500 dollars, as well as their expenses for travel, hotel rooms, car rental, meals and the many miscellaneous costs like occur while working a trade show. Add on another $2,500 to $5,000 dollars to the total. And don't forget that an insurance policy must be in effect for the entire time the machines and personnel of Acme are on site. This can vary, but a conservative estimate would be $1,000 dollars for insurance costs.
Then, we have the show personnel or the company staff that "mans the booth" for the duration of the show. Add another $10,500 dollars to the total because they don't work the show for free, and also have travel expenses.
Then, as if these costs were not enough (our total now is up $62,000 dollars-and this is probably low), the unions that operate the rigging and movement on the show floor have to be factored in. This can add another $25,000 dollars, which brings us to an estimated total of $87,000 dollars-just to show a company's products at a trade show. If you look at a regular trade show's daily hours - let's say 8 hours a day times 3 = 24; $87,000 dollars divided by 24 = $3,625 dollars an hour to be there, or $604.16 per minute of cost to Acme Machines, all for people to walk up, look at their machines and ask, "Does this do Bullnose?" or "How fast will the saw cut?"
I hope this dissection of the "unseen costs" gives you a better understanding of what a company has to spend in order to have a "presence" at the trade shows that we in the industry have become so accustomed to attending.
Having a presence at trade shows today can cost any given company up to $87,000 or $604.16 per minute.
Until next month...
Best Regards & Happy Fabricating!
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