Support the Industry: Go to local trade shows

Mechanical Hub Team March 25, 2013

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There are some really great high-profile shows that, as contractors, you might want to check out— AHR, Greenbuild, ISH Frankfurt — again, all great shows. But do you have the time and money as a plumbing, heating and mechanical contractor to go to all of these throughout the year? Can you afford to leave your business for more than two to three days at a time to see the latest and greatest? Can you fly off to Germany on a whim, with the potential to spend about 3-5 grand? I was told recently by a noted industry expert that instead of ISH, it should be called WISH, because most of the things you see across the pond will never hatch over here in the states, whether due to code standards, space requirements, lifestyle differences or financial feasibility. Nonetheless, I guess it is pretty cool to see how the Europeans address plumbing and heating. But we are HERE. If a tradeshow made specific attempts to be in your backyard, why wouldn’t you attend? Why wouldn’t you want to see the current products and technology that affect you, here and now! You see, a lot of time and effort goes into preparing the local trade shows so you don’t have to spend much time away from the office, and most of these shows are free! Take the PHCC, for example. Many local PHCC trade shows have been put on this spring to some good results, traffic-wise. I recently attended the Illinois PHCC Show and they were expecting approximately 2,000 attendees—you know, guys who get it done. Sure most of these shows feature some manufacturer reps and smaller versions of their bigger brethren (national PHCC info), but you can still connect on smaller, yet equally, important scale and learn about the new technology and products from some of your favorite manufacturers. I would strongly suggest you take an afternoon and visit one of these shows. Check here for upcoming PHCC events.

John Mesenbrink can be reached at jmesenbrink@mechanical-hub.com.