CE EQUIPMENT CONNECTION - Compact Equipment
CE EQUIPMENT CONNECTION - Compact Equipment
CE EQUIPMENT CONNECTION - Compact Equipment
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F R O M T H E E D I T O R . . .<br />
Trade Show Survival Guide<br />
Navigate the New Season of Vegas<br />
Machine Trade Shows Like an Old Pro<br />
When you’re in the desert, especially the middle of the Mojave, it’s<br />
always wise to have a plan. The City of Las Vegas sits smack dab in the<br />
center of Nevada’s high plains, surrounded by the Mojave’s rust-colored<br />
moonscape, and this electric oasis is your destination in 2008. From<br />
January through March, Vegas will be the epicenter for everything<br />
equipment. America’s largest trade show facility (the Las Vegas<br />
Convention Center) will host the three most important trade fairs for compact machinery<br />
— World of Concrete (Jan. 22-25), ARA’s The Rental Show (Feb. 11-14) and AEM’s<br />
CONEXPO-CON/AGG (March 11-15). Now you just need a plan.<br />
• Book’em Dummy — We hope you’re building a time machine, because you may need<br />
to warp back six months to find good room reservations. CONEXPO will be the<br />
world’s biggest machine trade show in 2008 and 200,000 attendees from around the<br />
world booked three years ago, so good luck, McFly.<br />
• Hi-Heel Sneakers — Buy a swank pair of black or brown sneakers or expect wheelchair<br />
treatment at the airport. Walking the 2 million sq ft of exhibit space in the Vegas<br />
Convention Center (there are no trams) and wearing new shoes or (God help you)<br />
high heels will feel like you just ran an Iron Man in clogs.<br />
• Eating with Aliens — Don’t chow down on<br />
that awful, over-priced slop on the show<br />
floor. The convention center is attached to<br />
the Hilton Hotel, so just walk over to the<br />
casino and find reasonable dining like the<br />
Paradise Café or Quark’s Star Trek Bar. Eat<br />
Vulcan Sauce wings, razz Klingon waiters<br />
and rest your tired feet.<br />
Vegas Flies: If you’re leaving any of the major trade fairs<br />
on the last day of the show (especially CONEXPO), give<br />
your crews a three hour window to crisscross the<br />
airport. Security will be obscene and the concourses<br />
will be swamped with drunk, broke contractors.<br />
• Early Bird Specials — Those in the know<br />
pre-register or show up a day before the<br />
show to get their badges. Greenhorns wade<br />
through the sea of humanity that line<br />
up the first morning to get credentials.<br />
Pre-register online early enough and they’ll<br />
send your dog tags in the mail.<br />
• Plot Your Course — Every machine<br />
manufacturer (from Komatsu to Caterpillar)<br />
wants you in their booth; follow the siren<br />
sales pitches of the super models working<br />
the floor and you’ll never leave the first hall. Use the show directory to map who you<br />
want to see to save time and your barking dogs.<br />
• Get Free Crap — Designate a Sherpa, that new young kid whose Vegas trip your<br />
company’s comping. Give him a garbage bag and stock up on product literature and<br />
everything free — T-shirts, pens, Nerf balls, hats, toys, whatever — and magnanimously<br />
distribute it at the office upon your return.<br />
• Taxi Cab Hell — If you stay to the end of the day, expect to battle zillions of zombiefied<br />
attendees for cabs and the public train. Your best bet is to leave early, use the Monorail<br />
on the opposite end of the Hilton or just nurse your wounds at the casino bar.<br />
• Drink with the <strong>CE</strong> Crew — We’ll have a booth at WOC and CONEXPO, so find us, ply<br />
us with booze and we’ll tell you the best booths to visit and the coolest new compact<br />
machines released for the new work season.<br />
Keith Gribbins<br />
Managing Editor<br />
kgribbins@compactequip.com<br />
Publisher<br />
Bernard P. Krzys<br />
Associate Publisher<br />
Robert D. Krzys<br />
Editor<br />
James W. Rush<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Keith Gribbins<br />
Associate Editor<br />
Jason Morgan<br />
Assistant Editor<br />
Pam Stask<br />
Contributing Staff Editors<br />
Sharon M. Bueno<br />
Bradley Kramer<br />
Greg Thompson<br />
Creative Director<br />
W. M. Conley<br />
Senior Graphic Designer<br />
Edward A. Haney<br />
Graphic Designers<br />
Sarah Hayes<br />
Chris Slogar<br />
Elizabeth Stull<br />
Marketing Manager<br />
Pete McNeil<br />
Regional Sales Representative<br />
Ryan Sneltzer<br />
Circulation Manager<br />
Alexis R. Tarbet<br />
Web Manager<br />
Mark Gorman<br />
Reprint Information<br />
Wright’s Reprints<br />
Ph: 877.625.5295<br />
Fax: 281.419.5712<br />
Editorial & Advertising Offices<br />
1770 Main St., P.O. Box 190<br />
Peninsula, OH 44264 USA<br />
Ph: 330.467.7588<br />
Fax: 330.468.2289<br />
E-mail: info@compactequip.com<br />
compactequip.com<br />
6 <strong>Compact</strong> <strong>Equipment</strong> January 2008 compactequip.com
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