Congratulations on your recent acquisition of the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo. Please don’t be offended if we affectionately refer to your new acquisition as “The Vegas Show” as it’s just an old habit we developed when we used to distinguish it from “The Columbus Show”. Yeah, I realize that reference may not mean much to you, but there is a long history to the show that still has some meaning to us “legacy” members of the industry.
You bought yourselves quite a show. A lot of great business connections can be traced back to this show. A lot of people managed to use this show to sell a lot of fasteners and, for this, many of us are very grateful to the show organizers. You’ve purchased an asset with a lot of history.
I looked at the list of exhibitions currently run by Emerald Expositions. It’s a very diverse list though not a lot in the industrial arena. All the same, you clearly have a lot of experience with trade shows. I can’t speak for the entire fastener industry, but I will tell you I hope your bring some exciting new ideas the the NIFSME. It’s been a great show, but there is ALWAYS room to grow and get better. I’m happy to share a few observations with you that on some things that I would not mind seeing added to the show.
First of all, each year there is an cocktail party that is the official opening to the show. It lasts one hour. So, hundreds of fastener people from coast to coast all gather into one room or around a pool and then in just one hour the party shuts down. Keep it open! Whether it is an open bar or a cash bar, this should be a longer event. The STAFDA show makes a whole evening of their opening celebration. At this point, people are in the habit of skipping out after an hour and going out to dinner or going off to gamble. I’ve always thought this gathering had greater potential. At this point I’m not sure how you keep people there for the evening. Maybe have a live band. One of the best parts of the old Columbus Show was that people gathered at the bar at the 2nd floor of the Hyatt where a lot of social networking took place. It has always been a challenge to duplicate that atmosphere in Vegas.
Do you have nationally known speakers at any of your other trade show? Get one of them to speak to an assembly of fastener industry people. Did anyone tell you yet that among Warren Buffet’s many holdings are a number of fastener companies? He might be good. Isn’t Tesla located out west? Elon Musk would be interesting and I know his companies use a bunch of fasteners. Might as well aim high as long as I’m asking, right? One of them just might be a cousin or something.
I know the Vegas Show is moving over to the Las Vegas Conventions Center in 2017. After several years at the Sands, this will be a big change for the many people who are used to stumbling out of the show right into a casino. Let us know what your plans are for the 2017 show so we can get excited about why we are leaving our old comfortable home to move further away from the strip. You have held other shows at that location so fill us in.
The Vegas Show has always been a great show and hopefully it will continue to be. But, as long as there is some fresh blood getting involved, now might be a good opportunity for people to share their ideas on how it might be bigger and better for the fastener industry. Comments welcomed!
First off, I am very excited to see this acquisition!! So on behalf of Specialty Sales Congratulations! This acquisition can mean new and great things for the “Las Vegas Fastener Show.”
I really just want to jump into talking about the BIG MOVE OF 2017. Apparently the Vegas Fastener Show has found its way over to the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2017. While many of my industry friends are angry, scared, or confused, I look at this as a positive move. While the convention center does not offer direct access to a hotel, it does have many unique benefits.
Year after year I find myself wandering further and further from the Fastener show– during the show!! I get invited to lunches and sales meetings from the Sands Expo Center to Treasure Island across the street (a 20-minute walk if you don’t get lost in the casino). My days are packed with walking from hotel to hotel, and it can be very stressful. All this takes me away from the show.
I have been to several shows at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and it is an entirely different story. Everything is under one roof, and the walking is tolerable. They have rooms/suites to rent for conferences and the venue and show floor itself is nice. (Cell phones actually work inside!!!) They do have a few small places to grab a snack but for the most part, that is it. Some may view this as a negative, but the point is to be at the show during the day and take the customers out at night. However, if you must leave for any reason taxis are aplenty, and the Tram stops right in front of the convention center.
Two items to note: 1) There are not many hotels near the Convention Center, and 2) The monorail stops right in front. I have made a list of all the Hotels along the tram and have put them below for anyone who reads this. My recommendation is to stay at one of these hotels for convenience. A three-day pass on the monorail currently runs $28, and a four-day pass runs $35. Both of which are good for unlimited rides and will beat the price of a taxi for three or four days! Keep in mind if you order your pass online at https://tickets.lvmonorail.com, you get 10% off. The discount brings the prices to $25 and $32 respectively. The monorail operates Mondays from 7am to midnight and Tuesday-Thursday from 7am-2am and Friday-Sunday 7am-3am.
All-in-all, I think limiting our small show to one large venue might be a good thing. Companies who have booths will see more foot traffic and will spend more time speaking with customers and potential customers on the show floor. I look forward to this change as it will add a new dimension to the show.
HOTELS ALONG THE MONORAIL:
MGM GRAND (Furthest to the South)
BALLY’S/PARIS
Flamingo
Harrah’s
The SLS Hotel
The WestGate Las Vegas (Closest to the Convention Center)
2015 LAS VEGAS STRIP AND MONORAIL MAP: http://www.vegas.com/transportation/las-vegas-monorails/
Thanks Aaron. That is some very useful information and gives us all some information to think about.
TS,
Hello and hope you are in the best of health.
Leo
Dear TS and All:
Thanks for your very positive blog re: the “Vegas Show” posted this morning.
The Partners had a variety of choices when we decided to sell the Expo. We chose Emerald Expositions because this company has all the resources to take an already great fastener industry expo to even greater heights. We believe the best will only get better under their management and conscientious stewardship.
Longtime Expo Manager, Susan Hurley, will continue as the Show Director for Emerald, and she is backed by a talented and experienced Emerald team. I have been retained by Emerald as a consultant and will continue working with the Expo at the new owner’s pleasure. I am asking Karalynn Sprouse, Emerald Executive Vice President, to join the Fastenertalk blog. Karalynn is eager to broaden her knowledge of the fastener industry and learn more about the great people of which it is made.
You will also continue seeing me around 🙂
Jim Bannister
No problem. You and Mike have built a great show and I’m sure it was a bittersweet sale. I’m glad to think of the show carrying on and, like with anything, maybe even growing bigger and better. Welcome to Karalynn!