November 10, 2014
The 34th National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo held October 22-24 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, set a new record for exhibit space and enjoyed an increase in buyer attendance, reports Susan A. Hurley, CEM, General Manager. “We had 823 booths and 618 companies from throughout the USA and 18 other nations worldwide, making this year’s Expo the largest in our long history dating back to 1981. Exhibitors were kept busy by a constant flow of distributors, importers, manufacturer’s reps, independent sales reps, and other visitors from 40 countries crowding the aisles eagerly looking at the huge variety of fasteners and fastener-related products and services being offered”, says Ms. Hurley.
A total of 4,606 persons (exclusive of guests) registered for the Expo including 2,129 visitors. The always-important distributor category led the way with 1,347 registrants, informs Lesley Hoheisel, Registration Manager. Expo management also reports that 523 of the 2,129 Expo visitors were attending the Expo for the first time. “We feel that this is a very positive indicator of the Expo’s growing attraction and a good sign for the industry”, added Ms. Hoheisel.
The Machinery & Tooling area of the Expo was conspicuously larger than in previous years and included a number of new companies showing a wide variety of fastener production machinery, tooling and other related equipment and supplies of interest to the largely built-in audience of fastener manufacturers. “We expect exponential growth of this this vital Expo component in future years as the event continues becoming the one-stop shopping source for the fastener industry in North America”, comments Jim Bannister, Managing General Partner.
The Expo was preceded by a full-day of fastener training, education and informational meetings sponsored by a number of leading fastener associations held on Wednesday, October 22nd.
There was an invitation-only “Hall of Fame” Reception & Award Presentation honoring industry leaders Leo Coar and Surinder Sakhuja held on Wednesday evening, October 22nd., followed immediately by the always popular and heavily attended “Welcome Party” sponsored by Expo Management, which packed an estimated 1,500 persons into the Treasure Island Hotel Ballroom to enjoy complimentary drinks and appetizers.
The “World’s Largest” Fastener & Mill Supply Expo was open from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Thursday, October 23 and from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Friday, October 24.
Exhibitors seemed well pleased, and a number of post-show comments were received by Expo Management. Peter Knobel of Delta Engineering reported, “The Expo was excellent. One-third of the names we captured on our lead retrieval devices have never been seen before”. “Great show!” said representatives of Accurate Manufactured Products; Alfa Tools, and Hanger Bolt & Stud. A Delta Engineering representative said “Best show ever!” Other comments included: “Busiest show we have exhibited in thus far”, stated Mark Ciuba and Scott Stanier of Groov-Pin; “I was positively impressed by the Expo in our first year of exhibiting”, said Andre Lopez of Tormex; “Another successful show! This year, buyers came back to the exhibit hall after lunch on Thursday”, reported Elna Mukaida, Soule, Blake & Wechsler; and “The Expo was busier and better than last year. Thanks for the half-day on Friday. It was smooth”, commented Luc Fournel, Infasco/Ifastgroupe; and Benji Perez of Ideal Fasteners happily reported “We handed out all of our literature this year”. Many more exhibitors commented about show visitors returning to the exhibit hall after lunch on Thursday and better traffic than usual in the exhibit hall on Friday.
The 35th National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo is scheduled for October 21-23, 2015 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, contact Susan Hurley, General Manager, at (614) 895-1279, email info@www.fastenershows.com or visit the Expo website at fastenershows.com.
